New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1849-06-21
\ Critic Cri,icised-Mr. summers Grafton
The Law of Progress.

10 he Edi0y Of The Tribune.
SIR find in your paper Of Saturday an article
signed o. on Mr. summers Phi Bcta Kappa Grafton,
which / cannot regard model Of criticism, either
tor the courtesy Of its tone the correctness Of IT,
statements. With your permission. Will 5rcay point
out % portion OF 10. errors and defects.
l. A. 70 rs courtesy Mr.. Sumner is gentleman
and scholar. Ec Is known 10 have made a-sluous
use Of the advantages derived from liberal stude- for
cgn travel and practice in affairs His reputation is
a. sound and pure As his intellect Is ripe AND bic
comp-hmcnts extensive. Hence hois entitled 20 r..
-pectul if not to candid breach OF good
manners is no less offensive in literary discussion than
ID the social circle. Let US see now your correspond
ent speaks OF him.
He accuses him of writing ON an ambitious theme.
hy which rather unusual rhetoric suppose he would
intimate that Mr. sumner selected subject 70 which
ms abilities inadequate. His production is after
20 prejudice than promote the conprehensnn of the
mort urgent question OF the age HE explanation
If IL Is incomplete" erroneous "miscllevOus,
scarcely better than the universal gaDbhug of the
name Of progress The pretensed explanation is
set oil with that sort of eruditOn which j. easily got
from photographed dictionary out "hich none me
ess imposes on the multitude lie Jumples togeh.
er fundamental opposites. and " Crassiy coni0unds
them " His disqmsiuon Is made up OIL acro"d OF
ippances "His presuming 20 lecture on Social sci
ence" without referring 70 the French Atheist Comte
shows either he never read ms book or Was afraid
20 mention N "cst 70 might offend the car- polite 81
Boston Puritanism "Eith,r suppo-tion - consonant
with the csudor and intelligence Of who should cap
the climax by pretending that the Progress OF human
~ only commenced with the Christian Religion ms
aneuage Il true. insulting II false % is indecent
Let US then look ~ the instances on which your cor
respondent relies. aud examine,
H. The corrections Of his statemeuts-He refers only
% your abstract o. Mr. summers Oranon. Will con-
Inc myself 70 that document II ] made use 81 me
Grafton itself the cahre ot your corresp ondtnt intel
lgence would be- displayed m SIN clearer light
J. He charges Mr. summer with getting his erudi'
non from photographed dictionary ans j.
simply absurd a. Autographed dictionary is not
me sorre 10 which We look for information hi-tor
cal subjects II he had said biographical dictionary
there might have been sense IN the charge a. TIE
question turns on the position Of certain eminent men
n regard 10 social question At present u y non
In any would be less important 10 de-
iermne the Of writer's crudluOn, than Us acca-
rgcD and prgf1aHdHcss.
. H- asserts that Mr. Summer teaches " that the
scientific lac Of Progress was unknown down 20 the
md OF fle ceafurg" Mr. summer, on the contrary
states that II was reserved 20 Woo Ia the taft par
ne last century N declare the existence Of ms a"
Nicos great work Priqcpid ana a7G Moro was Irst
published n 1925 Your correspondent is cat Of the
way hy nearly hundred years
g. He asserts that Mr. sumner maintains that even
the Itself OF Human Progress was unon-erved oy
The nrs political philosophers OF tn preceding ase-
| and among others Bodin aud Machsvelh Mr. sum
ner the contrary states not mat he fi ui human
Progress was unknown Mschisyell and others. but
that though there undolotcd progress % the DE-
vtopment o. events. the prtrcipfs which 4Hdrdg sno
2rrfrufd these events We're ma from ilc MINDS |N1t
| svelh Ac) from whom Ne might have expected true
appreciation OF their pA1-5fts Hence The quotation
Of Your correspondent from Machlavel j. wholly irre
evsut 10 would Pee irrelevant even u The passage a
uted 20 the fact OF the Progress az H4mdng which 30
does not Machiavelh refers only % the progress %
- certain communities under extraordinary clrcum
stances The quotation by your correspondent oi tnr
familiar words OF Shakespeare There j. ufe IN TIE
| affairs OF man. (Which by hy. he accuses -hs.-
spcare OF stealing from MachiaVel) proof that he
Lsw 81 Human Progress was recognized may pass TOT
! what u = worth As illustration % your cores
pondents In detecting the point o. question
and hs nicely IN weighing literary evidence j. WORN
good des IN charging Shakespeare with melt IRON
| The Dscoursos on Iivy" ne a-cribes 90 the swan
| Of Avon degree OF erudltiou beyond bis getting
from blhlOgmphica dictionary, Tor which TIE world
| has not usually given hin credit
4 he asserts that Mr. sumner confounds the theory
| OF Indefinite per'ecnbhty " maintained by Iurgot
and Con0orcet with the theory Of Progress as held oy
Nachisveih and Woo. Mr. sumner recognizes 10 such
identity II your correspondent himself who JUN
hes together these fundamental opPoslies. FOR ne
quotes Hachavell with appreciation % show that ne
believed in sn md, f7,s carer Of scr0r,f ior Human
ity and then speaks OF C0ndorcet theory OF indefinite
| pcriecrhhty" A. Wild negsuon lie states the the0
ues OF Machiavelh and Condorcet almost IN the same
words and IN the ueNt breath announces tnat their
relation esch other that % the circle and
This lucid Illustration presume, means that the Two
theories touch but n single point though his dee
cripucns ~ them Just before given coincide throughout
s lie numaies that II was either ignorance or fear
that prevented Ny sumner from speaking OF COmte %
the ears polite OF Boston Puritan.sn- To any one
who knows Mr sumner the charge Of not having read
50 familiar an suthor o. lay - The audaciOus
Cou,te i ludicrOus l. more 20 Ais purpose %
quote Com;e. sude 70 him than Z would have been
% refer 70 George sand OF 81 simon. Both these WI
tiers are strenuous and Intelligent advocates OF
Hum an Progress the atheist COmre But M sum
ner was rot regang the ears polite OF his audience
with "a Autographed can " poSfApnlcAl dc
uonsry and OF course a. liberty - select such
| names As he deemed most sppropraie- The fear Of
! Boston Puritsnisu could not have had much weight
since the discourse addressed 10 audience Of
| "Newlork Presbyterans Al Union College, Schen-
| ectzdy.
| G. he asserts that Ny Sumner "pretends that the
Progress OF Humanity only c0aeaced with the Chris
| uAn religion Mr.. sumner, the contrary, expires
ses no opinion Of the kind lie states that previously
10 the advent Of Christianity, be nnds but slight and
imperfect traces Of the rscQyHI0H Of IA Lar Of Pro