The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-06 00:00:00

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LITERATURE.
ra.F., NORTH BRITISH REVIEW. It i'
Biography, when written with taste nd. -`•
and by a person acquainted not only wain ar4
events in tae life of a celebrated character, `-aNA
arts and sciences in which be excelled, isnr.
the most interesting productions of literatur(
of great use, as it points out the steps by w • „
original minds and great talents and perseverance
eminence, and also their faults and imperfections, wairls
may serve as a warning to others, and form beacons ler
the guidance of future generations. It, Las the advaa-
tage, too, of being of a most expansive nature, as it
may embrace not only the peculiar qualities and exce 1-
lencies of the hero of the story, but the principal events
with which he was connected, the circumstances of the
time in which he lived, and brief traits too of the more
remarkable characters with whom ho bad intercourse.
Such works, therefore, are read with eageraess; many ek
them possess deep interest—deeper even than the fiett-
tious characters drawn by the most imaginative and cor-
rect novelist. No work of fiction, for instance, can l-e
compared with the Memoirs of Sully, which are only
comprehensive biography of Henry the Fourth of France.
Rausseau's Confessions, too, which, it is admitted gene-
rally,.describe his habits and deeds with great truih and
accuracy, are infinitely more •interesting than Tom.
Jones or Humphrey Clinker ; and though Robinson
Crusoe may appear an exception, it is not so in reality',
for many of the circumstances related in that captivat-
ing production are believed to have been founded on real
events. We have been led to these remarks by a very
able and beautiful life, which appears in this Re •
view, of one of the many distinglashed persons who
sprung up in France during the first Revolution,
namely, the Baron Fourier. The writer has drawn
many of the materials from a memoir of that eminent
mathematician read by M. Arago, before the French In-
stitute ; but he haagreatly improved on the original, and
interwoven fresh details into the biography, both respect-
ing his habits and discoveries, which show that it must
have been rather a work of love than of labour, and that
from sympathy in the same pursuits, and perhaps also.
in his misfortunes or disappointments, he was one of
the fittest men of the day to do justice to his character.
The life of Fourier was of a most varied character.
Ile was educated fur the Church, and officiated for some
time as a priest in a provincial town ; he afterwards be-
came Professor of Mathematics in the Military College
of Auxerre ; was elected a camber of the Convention ;
''n'ol4,l2-anied Berfal*rtwitriais-ratvatiantiztpeditien..aporea—a—

itiihremseedrtahreatdee ittraisil,tisedB,istofies.thofe agt7it•cettangircom
was appointed;fell pinretofeec t work on • Egypt ;
itsogfrareeonofthteheredteupriairotmf departments
Bunoudeif
Napileon
bons ; came t Paris, and was on the point of being re-
duced to the necessity of earning his bread by privates
teaching. The country, however, was saved from that
disgrace, for the courtiers of Louis XVIIL were sensible
of ies merits. Laplace and Cuvier exerted themselves in
his behalf, and he obtained a competence for the rest of
his life. A curious circumstance is related respecting
the preface which he drew up for the work on Egypt,
and there can be no doubt of its truth, for it is quite in
keeping with Bonaparte's character, and is supported by
the best authority. The proof sheets were sent to the
Emperor for his inspection, and when returned to Fou-
rier they were found covered with marginal notes,
and the additions which these rendered necessary
amounted to nearly a third of the preface.
All the proper names were expunged except
those of three generals-in-chief—Bonaparte, Weber.
and Desaix, and in almost every page were dis-
played those miserable feelings of jealousy which
robbed Kellerman ,f the honours and glory due to him
for his services at Marengo, and which would have done
the same injustice to Desaix, had he survived the bat-
tle. Bonaparte even heeitated for some time before he •
would allow the word " illustrious," applied to Kleber,
to remain in the text. Independent, however, of the
events connected with the life of Fourier, there are many
allusions to other subjects of a gratifying character, and
some just remarks on the state of education in this
country. This Review is generally understood to be
conducted by writers connected with the Free Church of
Scotland, who, in some respects are not very charitable
to other sects. Here, however, we find many generous
exceptions, and we quote with pleasure one remark,
complimentary to Sir Robert Peel and honourable to the
writer. It relates to the Irish Colleges Bill, and such
liberal sentiments expressed by a member of the Free
Church, a Church so remarkable for its regard to re •
ligious and godly education, may well make men like
Sir Robert Inglis and Mr. O'Connell blush for their
sectarian bigotry:—
" Whore arc our National Universities -regvlated by Par-
liamentary statute—strong in the unity of their doctrine and
their discipline—conferring their literary honours upon the
men that merit them—inviting to their chairs of office the
genius and learning of the age, and seeking no other test but
that of fearing God, and honouring the King? Alas! where
are they to be found? Not surtly in the two noble institu-
tions which stand in hoary antiquity and unreformed gran-
deur on the Cam and the Isis—mighty in intellectual power
and glorious memories—yet rejoicing in ancient and exclu- .
sive privilege, and politely shutting their portals against
every class but their own :—Not in the Colleges of the me-
tropolis, chartered by the State, yet depending on the casual
bounty of private munificence :—Not in the University of
Dublin, admitting to its (dices and its rich Fellowships but
a small portion of the nation: Certainly not in the Universi-
ties of Scotland—overborne in the metropolis by the incubus
of municipal control ;—degraded in the provinces by internal
abuse, and ecclesiastical domination; and impoverished
everywhere by self-plunder, or national parsimony. We du
recognise them, however, if not in the maturity of their
fruit, at least in the freshness of their germ, in the Irish
Colleges, these light-towers of knowledge which a wise Go-
vernment has erected in a dark land; and which, we trust,
will he the harbingers of a grand intellectual reform, con,
ferring the noblest of all political rights—the franchise of a
liberal and religious education upon every subject of the
British empire."
The following curious anachronism occurs in the
brief remarks of the writer on Arago's observations
contrasting the ancient professors of France with their
successors under the convention. " We trust our readers
will excuse us for quoting a few lines, in which more
than ten years ago we recommended the general policy
pursued by the present Government, and which we
trust they will carry out to its full and legitiumate ex-
tent." This is the eighth number of the Review, conse-
quently it has been in existence for two years in place of
ten. We believe the extract however may be found in
some of Sir David Brewster's writings. The life of an-
other
great man is reviewed under the head of "Letters
and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell," by Thomas Carlyle.
Full justice is done to his character, though the Presby-
terian party in England owed their downfal entirely to his
policy and prejudices. "It matters little to his country-
men," says the writer, " whether his memory be honoured
by monumental marble, or even that the poet's promise,
that 'his ashes in a peaceful urn shall rest,' should have re-
mained unfulfilled. The record of his fame is engraven in
our history, and all our subsequent glory does it involuntary
homage. The annals of legitimate monarchy show few will,
so well deserved to be remembered; and beside the imbecile
James, the perfidy of the first, and the profligacy of the second
Charles, he shines like the orb of day among the lesser fires."
The analysis of Carlyle's works and style, with which
the article is prefaced, though severe in some respects,
is far too favourable. He may be an original and
vigorous thinker ; he may think with unfettered free-
dom, and delineate his thoughts with boldness ; but his
language is not to be endured. The style is neither
German nor English ; it belongs to no idiom, and is
regulated by no rules sanctioned either by good taste or
propriety, or the ordinary and established custom of the
age :
" Quem penes arbitrium est et jus et norma loquendi:"
it is a jargon, or as the reviewer says, " a frantic con-
gregation of words" occasionally, which often conceals.
the meaning, which is abominated by every admirer, of
t
pure English, and ought to be shunned by eve:
the 3o tuh
student. We have not space for remarks on
ander
arti cfl nmt
ahien
tnaui
nm bt
he
er ,
cbhuatr
ai in
te
r whichgeneral
thisare n eexwc e ll e n
peri-
odicalully
has justly acquired. Among the more interesting-
are " Dispatches and
Letters of Lord Nelson.."
~
" Scottish Criminal Law, and " Antiquity of the
uspels."