Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-11-11

and to this Hege consecraed the mghties energies of
his mighty mind and, though may inscribe on
their works swain wisdom all and false philosophy" the
patient student still hopes for the magnificent nsaura-
ton of that truth which shall be of all partial truths the
| centre and the sum.
1t has been said that according to the dostrne of Vice.
the race in vicious circle each nation in the
drama of history going through the round of RISE
progress, and decline Such to the superficial reader
would seem the limit Of Wco's philosophJ-a phoso-
ply certainly good far it goes but which would
ignore the irresistible and onward march Of humanity
We ourselves at one time disposed to think that
Vco had bounded his system by the ether IF merely
national and limited progress uniform in is operation
and perpetuay repeating itself in history but not in
voying the whole But closer examination of his
writings ncnes to believe that his views have been
inexperienced this point He certainly ,aches that
societies reproduce substantially the areer and
historical phenomena and that there certain eternal
laws which all nations obeyn their RISE their iecadence
and their fall Through the diversity Of ther exterior
forms and politics, discern he declares certain
identity Of history. Now, this hold to be the His
tory does to certain extent reproduce itself fm age
age and in nation after nation Thucydides aid Keno
phon, the orators and dramatss and philosophers of
Athens as is well argued by Dr. Arnold in hshistorical
teachings, all speak wisdom more applicable to US
than the wisdom of our own countrymen whe lived in
the middle ages and their position, both Intellectual
and POLITICAL nearly resembles own But shall
say for all this that the hosts of mankind mey mark
time without making progress Do they 60 through
certain uniform evoutons without ever conqusring
higher elevation? If had nothing but the Scieaaa
Nuopa of Vco by which to settle this question might
be in some doubt as to the answer he would give. By
dwelling particularly the uniformity of national
histories he would seem to lean towards merely crcu
lar path Of historical evoution but when couple
this view with his admitted Platenism nothing in
consistent between such circular march of the separate
nations and the onward and upward progress of humanty
for this circular progress when tending towards goal
on the blessed mountain-tops becomes grand spiral
by which humanity is lifting itself into higher and
still higaer civilization. Accordingly find Vco, in
university discourse delivered in propounding three
conditions indispensable to the proper knowledge of
human thingsthe origin, the circular march, and the
constancy of historical events Their origin he asserts
is in God and their circular march is constantly bringing
them back to God Can the doctrine of human perfect
by be more clearly taught than by this? That it may
be more wisely taught do not question.
We have not space or time in which to pursue this
theme to recaptuae still other topics of discussion
and speculation which evince the genius of Vico but
enough has been said, hope, to challenge for him
place among the honored names in the worlds literary
history.