The Sun.
London, England, 1835-10-24 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

EDINBURGH REVIEW. No. CXXV.
Longman. London. 1835.

There are few eminent statesmen of modern times
whose political deeds, or rather misdeeds, have so com-
pletely dropped out of public recollection, as Lord
Bolingbroke's. While all, even the merest smatterers
in history, know something of the character and policy
of Walpole and Chatham, few readers, we believe, ex-
cept those whom duty or inclination have led to insti-
tute researches into the politics of the first half of the
eighteenth century, are acquainted with the tortuous
and meteoric career of one who once occupied a larger
space in the public mind, than perhaps any other states-
man of his age. If the memory of St. John still sur-
vive among us, it is chiefly in the pages of Pope. The
generality of us remember him, not as the reckless
sacrificer of British honour at the peace of Utrecht ; not
as the tamperer with two dynasties, and the betrayer of
both ; but as the " guide, philosopher, and friend,'
so elegantly apostrophised in the " Essay on Man."
While we may wonder at this general apathy, we 'can
scarcely regret it, for there is little in the political ca-
reer of Bolingbroke that deserves to be shrined in our
recollection. He was a man utterly without principle,
and of such desperate ambition that there was no sa-
scrifice he was not prepared to make to it. As for
love of country, he knew it not. England had no
magic for him, except as the arena in which his own
power was to be paraded ; and when she ceased to be
this, he, without the slightest hesitation or remorse,
jeopardised her tranquillity and all her dearest interests,
by transferring his services to the Pretender, in whose
Court he held the same high office, that he had held
but a few months before in that of Queen Anne ! Of
those strong ties, too, which bind, or should bind, party
men together, he was equally regardless. So long as
they accorded with his interests, well and good ; but the
instant they militated against them, he snapped them,
as though they were mere straws. Thus to wreak his
spite on Lord Oxford, once his best friend, he broke
up the Ministry to which both were attached, though
Swift had warned him, and his own strong natural
sagacity, had he allowed it fair play, must have taught
him, what would be the inevitable consequences of such
a suicidal act ; and in after life he sacrificed the whole
Stuart dynasty, in order to wreak his vengeance on the
Pretender, who had received him with open arms, and
appointed him his Chief Secretary of State. Yet St.
John was not without his redeeming points. He was
eloquent to a degree seldom attained by English
statesmen ; a warm, and even enthusiastic friend,
where his self-interest was not concerned, when, as in
the case of Pope, he could deliberately blast the
memory of the man over whom he had hung weeping
in his dying hours ; unrivalled in his powers of appli-.
cation to business ; sound and clear-headed in his
views, though his judgment was ever the slave of his
passions ; in youth, a man of wit and pleasure ; in
age, a logiCian and a philosopher ; and throughout
life, the delight, the boast, and the ornament of the
social circle. Nevertheless, despite all these useful
and dazzling qualifications, he wore away the best por-
tion of his days in exile and penury ; thus adding one
more to the long catalogue of those whose talents have
served only to aggravate their sufferings, because they
have not been supported on the solid foundation of
principle. Bolingbroke's fortunes have already "adorn-
ed a tale," as in the case of " Devereux" and " De
Vere ;" and may " point a moral," by teaching us that
abilities without conduct, are but as the lightning flash
which lights the seaman to his destruction amid rocks
and breakers.

The Number before us, in a notice of " Cooke's
Memoirs of Bolingbroke," gives us some interesting
particulars respecting the intrigues of this illustrious
man for the restoration of the Jacobite dynasty. It is
a well-reasoned and conclusive article, though too
much restricted in its character ; for it says little or
nothing of St. John in his general capacity of a states-
man ; but contents itself with simply discussing the
question, whether or not, he was sincere in his efforts
to restore the Pretender to his throne. We think
not ; for his whole political life leads us to infer that
he was sincere in nothing, but the furtherance of his

own interests.
" Williams's Hind and Panther" is a review of a
poem in continuation of Dryden's celebrated alle-
gory, by the Vinerian Professor of Law at Oxford.
Though it is here made the subject of deserved
eulogy, we fear it will scarcely be popular, for the
allegorical form of writing has long ceased to
attract public attention. It has even thrown Spenser
into the back ground—who then shall presume to re-
vive it ? The great defect of the allegory is its ab.
stractedness, and want of human interest. In one
only instance that we know of—if we except the per-
sonification of Una in the " Fairie Queen"—does it
appeal to our sympathies ; and that is, in the " Vision
of Mirza," where, though the cold allegorical form is
adopted, truth and nature speak out in every line.
The review of Professor Williams's Poem is introduced
by some admirable remarks on Dryden's " Hind and
Panther," which is praised as his most masterly, though
least generally read, production.
In the criticism on" 'rhirlwall's History of Greece,"
the reviewer breaks ground afresh on the old, exploded
question, as to whether the Iliad and Odyssey were
the compositions of one individual, or of a plurality.
We agree with him in opinion—notwithstanding the
high authority of the German, Wolf is against us—
that to one poet, and but one only, must these pro-
ductions be ascribed, so all-convincing is the unifor-
mity of mind that pervades them. The reviewer, in his
passing observations on the rise, progress, and general
character and tendency of the Greek democracies,
show much ingenious speculation.
" Tory and Reform Associations" inculcates the
necessity of the Reformers turning their own favourite
weapon of combination against the • Conservatives ;
taking as its text Lord Stanley's Letter to Sir
Thomas Hesketh, wherein his Lordship deprecates
the formation of Tory confederacies, as being neces-
sarily provocative of a reaction among the opposite
party. " When bad men conspire, good men must
combine," is sound doctrine all the world over ; we are
glad, therefore, to see the reviewer advocating, in tern-
perate but energetic terms, the necessity of a strict union
among all classes of Reformers. " If," says he,
they be true to one another, and continue united, and
on the alert, the dangers .of a Tory restoration may be
averted. There must be no selfish paltering—no split-
ting of hairs. Every one should rally round the
standard of Reform, which is in danger, and sacrificing
minor points of theoretical difference, unite in the
words of the address of the Metropolitan Society, ' in
counteracting by every lawful mode the undue influence
of the societies now founded and forming, under the
name of Conservative Clubs and Associations through-
out the kingdom.' In other words, counter-associa-
tions must be formed. This may be an evil, but it
will be infinitely less than the evil of handing over the
country and its institutions to Tory domination ; sub- '
ject, too, to the fearful re-action which would inevitably
follow on the heels of such a change."
We regret to find that in the article headed " Last
Session of Parliament," a Reform in the House of
Lords is treated by the reviewer, as a`project wholly
impracticable. He is of opinion that they can never
be otherwise constituted than as they now are ; and
that the only safe way to render them amenable to t