The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1825-07-28

l'ee'oF MS hooks, the scholar his in,,ll..,,.i
stores, and The miser his gold. almost cnt,rel,
Tor IN. gratihcntion of this simple AMI eo,,,.,.'
propensity, with comparatively h,n, and
'ortoitons inhuence of other motives - n %
! We do not quote all that the R,v,.ws
On the subject OF DR.. Browns Theory ofAxn.
receive have, Tor brevity sake. eons,ea
ourselves 10 that portion which resolve, III.
f''heiPie INTO desire of power. And wa
would ask, by way of sustaining tho onioia.
we nave advance = III the impartality and can.
'o' as wen rs talent oil the article in question.
""e'heF, short as the extract is. it he moi :.
complete rein'a,ion OF that theory Do We
not see IT. in fact, refnted by every day ex.
per'enee kAomtsdge is pototr," saws Lord
Bacon, than whom reVer lived man n,r.
deeply initiated in the philosophy of the hn.
'h"h mud. But, according 10 Or Brown.
Vealth Is the Archimedean lever which car,
move the world. The North American Re-.
view, without quoting Lord Baeon's maxim
aud apparently without being aware OF il at
Tue moment, adopts his view. aud nccessari.
" coniutes The proposition OF Dr. Brown
Have we not seen, from the commencement
OF lime, mind rising superior 10 matter -
ii"ra we not seen intellect triumph where
wealth would have been imnotent What
exalted Napoleon 10 the throne OF France !,
n'"d. Aud, although god WAS necessary 10
support HIM on that throne, his nind drew
resourcestfom barrenness, and strength not on
" from imbecIlty but from opposition The
wealth OF Cr9sHS would have been useless 10
hlm but for the wi5dom of its application. Blu,
his mind, whatever were its dictates, whether
taey led 10 The support oftruth, or the propnga.
ton OF error, was the true source OF his rise,
aud the foundation of his strength, as its de.
cay was the cause OF ks ultimate fall and de-
graduation. When he permitted il to be tram-
melIed by superstition, and committed him.
self to the riapsodies OF fate aud eesiiny he
lost the power of voIition, aud, with il, the
tous occurrences OF chance. II we wished o.
ther evidence OF the erroncousncs. OF Dr..
Browns Theory, we would refer 10 the less
ambitious walks OF lie where Avarice hoards
its gains and guards them with more inan
yestal vigilance, while the "geli0ac ,eyetehe
who daily counts his treasure, never assoc.
ates with il a single idea of power nor spends
an unnecessary groat to procure the least
On the other hand, We would
reierto the student, porting overaneieni tones,
and coming by rote "words OF learned length
Ind laundering sound" alternating his tolls
BY dreams Of future aggrandizement. Pol0er
is Al once his Inspiration aud his arn Tie
plods on laboriously in the 4 c OF science,
booking with eager eyes TO the steep ascent,
Where Fame's proud Temple Shines"
And consoles himsef,in the midst of his abars,
with the often deusivc hope ofone day stand.
ing pre- eminent at the bar, in the forum, or on
The bench.
There are, however, two OF three apparent
in the Review. II quotes at
one time an argument of DR.. Brown, III favor
Of the immortality Of the soul, which it pro.
aonnces 10 be " g'gantic,' and yet, before il
has pro sre5sed two pages farther, asserts thu,
he tad MT placed his subject on new and
stronger vantage ground than il occupied be
fore Aad in speaking OF the Doctors styls,
Gage ~ the Review says mo man ever
welded he resources of the English tongue
norn skiiully than DIR. Brown, OF wrote it in
more perfect purity yet, in page 49, it goes
on to say, q We must acknowledge that in the
writings OF DR.. Brown, there are too many
obscure and diihc Ill passages After making
due allowance for the imperfect state in
which his manuscripts may have been left,
for the abltruse aid shadowy nature Of many
of his topics, aud even for an occasious mys.
ticism aud una ainabIe aim IN some OF hi,
thoughts, there still remain too many senten.
ces TO remind US, by contrast Of the unaba
ting Transparency OF Mr.. Stewards elocution.
On the whole, we must ALLOW, that our au-
thor's is often hard style to read, and, as we
should have thought, IL much harder Que to
hear, He seems frequently not TO have adap-
ted his sentences to the capacity of the ear.
The attention is stofmed and borne GIoug, I'd.
Their by the force and br,ljancy Of the express
sons, by the earnest energy OF the writer, aud
by the novelty, splenAor aud Importance Of
his well selected topics, than by The clcarness
and distinctness OF each successive position,
and certain smooth and resisiless current
ot diction, of which Adam Smith, Paley, and
Godwin in his philosophical worka occur to
Us lust now as three of the most remsrka-
bic instances" The Reviewers meaning is
here 50 cbscure, that he may with some show
OF Justice be charged with incoasiStcncy.-
Upon the whole, however, it must be admli-
ted that he has done equal and exact
ia,ticeto DR.. Browns works. Whenhe speaks
Of the Doctor MS the aLle successor OF Reid
and Stewart, he pays him an euloenm OF no
common character, and snch as ought TO saliss
fy the most ambitions mind.
[.4Jsti uct 10 be Continued