and satiated." His standard of pulpit ora- the student's ethical vision has become tory is high, and arduous, and sound. "A almost incapable of distinguishing the value good preacher must be able to preach plainly of one particular from that of another, and and in good order. He should have a good quite incapable of appreciating their proper head; he should have a good power of bearing upon the universal. It is the menspeech; a good voice; a good memory; he tal or moral condition analogous to that should know when to stop; he should be physical defect which (as Mr. Kinglake sure what he means to say, and should study would say) men call short sight. It is a too diligently; he should be ready to stake body great convexity of the cornea of the soul, and life, goods and glory, on its truth; he causing the beholder to see details, when must suffer himself to be vexed and criti- he looks closely at them, with almost miccised by everybody." Luther's test, if en- roscopic acuteness, but preventing him from forced, would empty nine-tenths of the studying them at such a distance as to get pulpits in Protestant Christendom. the proper light and shade upon them, and so robbing them of all their true and natural tone and colour, and quite disabling him from seeing what part they bear towards forming the general harmony of the whole. It is in fact a kind of ethical shortsight. From The Saturday Review. The effects or operations of ethical shortWANT of common sense is principally sight may of course be traced in each of the shown in two respects namely, in undue two great border domains wherewith ethical neglect of particulars, and in false esti- science is concerned-the domain of thought mates of particulars. The first is the and the domain of action; and though it amiable weakness of dreamers of poets, would be absurd to attempt, within the limphilosophers, and others who live in the its of such a paper as the present, to dekingdom of ideas; who think that it rains scribe all those effects or operations, yet a legs of mutton at regular intervals, that few hints may be suggestive. In the dowith so much bread and butter about it main of thought we are struck by the obvimust be impossible to starve, and that if ous fact that this shortsight is the besetting there should ever be a deficiency of bread defect of statisticians. It is the weakness of it will be no great hardship to fall back the social student who rests more on the upon toast. The features of this phase are number than on the kind of his instances, too broad and too well known to require and is apt to ignore their relation to the comment. But the other phase, where want general theory which should preside over of common sense is shown in a false appre- his investigation. Lord Macaulay, in his ciation of particulars, is more subtle and celebrated criticism of Bacon's method, more interesting. It depends upon a con- seems- - if we may judge from the applicadition or habit of mind entirely different tion he makes of the story of the judge from that which occasions the first-named "who was in the habit of jocosely prophase. It often originates in perfectly pounding after dinner a theory, that the contrary ethical circumstances. For where- cause of the prevalence of Jacobinism was as the former arises from a dreamy or gen- the practice of bearing three names-to eralizing ethical habit, and shows itself in have supposed that the value of any inducundue neglect or contempt of particulars, tion depended on the number, and not upon the latter arises more frequently from a too the kind, of instances collected; and a simmicroscopic or particularizing habit, and ilar error is frequently committed by the shows itself in an inability to ponderate or professed statistician, and is partly at least classify particulars. The habit is not one the result of ethical shortsight. When once of overlooking particulars, or of hasty gen- such a person comes to be employed on any eralization; it is not the dreamy, imagina- public work, such as an educational or other tive disposition which renders its possessor social inquiry, he is overwhelmed by the liable to castle-building or Quixotism. It minuteness and diversity of his materials; is not the habit which would cause a man to he is quite unable to sift the evidence which talk of Lancashire as if it were the new pours in upon him; and, unless in the course Atlantis, or of Birmingham as Utopia, or of fate he becomes the prey of some fanatic, which would induce him to start off on a or the useful tool of some master mind, he voyage over an unknown sea in search of is hopelessly lost in his Cretan labyrinth of an earthly paradise. On the contrary, it is details. In the domain of thought, the a habit which, originating perhaps in a want tendency of all laborious and scrupulous à of fancy or of humour, is fostered and mag-posteriorists is in the direction of ethical nified by an overstudy of particulars, until shortsight. They are like tourists who are trying to work their way across an overgrown country, or a country with much sameness of feature, without having first climbed a height in order to take a general survey of it; or rather, perhaps, they are the men who did climb the height, but who, owing to their shortsight, were unable to make any use of their position, and so set to work to grapple with the details of their task unprovided with any mental map. both in politics and in morals, mostly due to ethical shortsight; but of course, as the matter on which the wisdom of politics works is somewhat different from that on which the wisdom of morals works, the results of such false estimates differ in their social importance. Shortsight in politics affects the collective happiness of mankind much more than shortsight in morals. The shortsighted politician is a pest to his counIn the two great provinces of the ethical try; the shortsighted moralist is a curse to domain of action - namely, politics and himself. It is only when such a moralist morals- we find this defect of the ethical turns legislator or agitator, and therefore vision operating in a mode closely analo- drops the guise of moralist for that of politigous to that in which it works within the cian, that he becomes dangerous to the domain of thought. Here, also, its effects peace of others as well as to his own, and are shown in an inability rightly to regard, illustrates the wisdom of Dr. Johnson's oband judiciously to manipulate, particulars. servation, adopted and amplified by Mr. It is, both in morals and politics, an in- Buckle, that there is no greater social nuicapacity for duly apprehending what Aris-sance than your wrong-headed conscientotle calls the minor premiss of the practical syllogism. And it is the exercise of this tact for apprehending the minor premiss, so as to know when and how to apply it to the major, which the marvellously practical genius of Aristotle declared to be the very essence of common sense or of social wisdom. False estimates of particulars are, tious man. Such a man, if he comes into power, turns the affairs of his country — which previously were in a condition, if not of perfection, at least of order and decency into the cauldron, and makes of them what Punch once represented Lord Palmerston as calling a pretty kettle of fish." 66 NUMBERS FOR THE SORROWFUL. TRUST Him who is thy God and have no fear: His eyelids ache not with the drowse of sleep, He cannot tire, and how should He forget? Self-centred in His own infinity He that is All is cause and law of all: The worlds He soweth broadcast with His hand, Yet perfect from His shaping fingers sent Behold the yearly miracle of Spring! Art thou more bare than is the Winter wood, And if thy prime be gone and thou lament, See, where the cruel winds have swept the trees LITTELL'S LIVING AGE. THIS work will be conducted in the spirit of | nection with ourselves, but because the nations Littell's Museum of Foreign Literature, (which seem to be hastening through a rapid process was favorably received by the public, for the of change to some new state of things, which past twenty years,) but as it will be twice as the merely political prophet cannot compute or⚫ large, and will appear four times as often, we foresee. can not only rive spirit and freshness to it by many things which were excluded by a month's delay, but while thus extending our scope and gathering a greater and more attractive variety, shall be able so to increase the solid and substantial part of our literary, historical, and political harvest, as fully to satisfy the wants of the American reader. The elaborate and stately Essays of the Edinburgh, Quarterly, and other Reviews; and Blackwool's noble Criticisms on Poetry, his keen Political Commentaries, highly wrought Tales, and vivid descriptions of Rural and Mountain Scenery; and the contributions to Literature, History, and common Life, by the sagacious Spectator, the sparkling Examiner, the judicious Athenæum, the busy and industrious Literary Gazette, the sensible and comprehensive Britannia, the sober and respectable Christian Observer; these shall be intermixed with the Military and Naval reminiscences of the United Service, and with the best articles of the Dublin University, New Monthly, Fraser's, Tait's, Ainsworth's, Hood's, and Sporting Magazines, and of Chambers' admirable Journal. We shall not consider it beneath our dignity to borrow wit and wisdom from Punch; and, when we think it good enough, shall make use of the thunder of The Times. We shall increase our variety by importations from the continent of Europe, and from the new growth of the British Colonies. The steamship has brought Europe, Asia, and Africa into our neighborhood; and will greatly multiply our connections, as Merchants, Travellers, and Politicians, with all parts of the world: so that much more than ever it now becomes every intelligent American to be informed of the condition and changes of foreign countries. And this not only because of their nearer con Geographical Discoveries, the progress of Colonization (which is extending over the whole world), and Voyages and Travels, will be favorite matter for our selections; and in general, we shall systematically and very fully acquaint our readers with the great department of Foreign Affairs. We have spoken confidently of what we can bring from abroad. Of our labors in the Home Department it becomes us to speak with diffidence; for we know not, till we try, how far we may have the able assistance we hope for, or how much we may be left to our own resources. We must feel our way, and gradually develop this part of our plan; but it will always be subordi nate to the Foreign Department. While we aspire to make the Living Age desirable to all who wish to keep themselves informed of the rapid progress of the movement,to Statesmen, Divines, Lawyers, and Physicians, it is to men of business and men of leisure, still a stronger object to make it attractive and useful to their Wives and Children. We believe that we can thus do some good in our day and generation; and hope to make the work indispensable in every well-informed family. We say indispensable, because in this day of cheap literature it is not possible to guard against the influx of what is bad in taste and vicious in morals in any other way than by furnishing a sufficient supply of a healthy character. The mental and moral appetite must be gratified. We hope, that, by "winnowing the wheat from the chaff," by providing abundantly for the imagination, and by a large collection of Biography, Voyages and Travels, History, and more solid matter, we may produce a work which shall be popular, while at the same time it will aspire to raise the standard of public taste. I have read the prospectus of your proposed periodical, "The Living Age," with great pleasure, and entirely approve the plan. If it can only obtain the public patronage long enough, and large enough, and securely enough, to attain its true ends, it will contribute in an eminent degree to give a healthy tone, not only to our literature, but to public opinion. 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