The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-02 00:00:00

MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

There is much that is good in this periodical
mixed up with much that is unquestionably bad ;
but the tares and the wheat arc so blended together
that it is almost impossible to separate them. The
opening essay on " Foreign Aids to Self-Intelli-
gence is specially open to this objection. In one
passage, we are struck with the writer s sound
sense, and even depth of thought ; in another, with
his extravagant absurdity. There appears to be a
want of discipline----of proper training in his mind.
He catches a bright glimpse of the truth at times,
but some cloudy crotchet quickly interposes to shut
out the view. The essay is in every respect a most
provoking one, for one half of it—so far as we can
judge—serves only to neutralize the other half.
" The Departed Year" is a poetical Masque, for
which we are indebted to Mr. Heraud. There are
several passages in it which show no ordinary
powers of imagination. The spirit, too, that per-
vades it, is uniformly excellent. " Illustrations of
the Millenium" is pious, but prosy.
.The " Eng-
lish Wits" is a biographical and critical notice of
Sheridan, whose comedies, notwithstanding the
sneers of certain small critics of the day, will
always command admiration. In the subjoined re-
marks on this great dramatist we cordially concur :
The varied abilities of Sheridan, his conversational fas-
cinations, his high-wrought eloquence, and his elaborate
Hit, elevate him as the representative of man in his lighter,
happier, and more dazzling attributes. But it must be ac-
knowledged that wit, and the artifices of style, are sweet-
meats that delight the palate more than they nourish the
body. In vain do we look, in the roductions of Sheridan,
for new principles, or new additions to man's stock of
substantial knowledge. These are foreign to their nature.
Yet it might almost be gathered from a few straggling
sentences that penetrate into deeper considerations, that
his rr.ind was also capable of severer investigations, if his
youth had been passed in the study of sciences requiring
reflection, But the youth of Sheridan was one of suc-
cessful love, fast ripening hopes, and expanding fame ;
and when he should have been struggling through learn-
ing, perhaps to the united fame of a Congreve and a
ituchefoucault, his eagerness prompted him to seize at
ones a fame not more dazzling and far less substantial and
respectable. However, that he created this reputation
without an effort, proves that, with one, he might have
attained to a much higher and more firmly based renown.
But Sheridan in manhood had lost the power of making
efforts, and habit soon reconciled him to a life in which hit
first youthful triumphs had been made. His subsequent
attention to rolitics proves his taste for the exercise of the
reflective faculties; and that he never struck out any great
truths in potical or moral science, is accounted for, per-
haps, more from his ignorance than from his inability.
That these remarks do not over-estimate the dormant
abilities of Sheridan, may be seen from some observations
scattered through his works; but they arc so entangled in
other matter, that they cannot easily be quoted. The
proper method of becoming acquainted with an author's
talent, is by deducing it in detail from his life and works.
But it is plain that the extent of his knowledge must be
taken into account. The author, perhaps, makes an inci-
dental remark of the greatest importance, embodying, per-
haps, the embryo principle of a great science. The blow
is vigorous, but ignorance breaks its force or turns aside its
aim. Hence the importance of education, without which
the eye for discovery, and the hand for invention, exist
almost in vain.