The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-11-02
PRESIDENT WAYLAND'S ELEMENTS OF IN
TELLECTUAL PHILOSOPHY.

This completes the series of works which the
learned President of Brown University has CIV
en- to the public-the results of his studies, ex
perience, and lifelong labors. His Elements
of Political Economy" and Elements of Moral
Science" have been adopted in our colleges
and academies as text books nor will this last
labor fall below these valued works, in the esti-
nation of scholars and teachers.
On every page of this work is to be seen
President Waylands accustomed clearness and
compactness of style, felicity of illustration, and
force ofargument; the result offrequent revision
and long and careful preparation.
We think this work will lead many who have
never studied the laws of the mind to learn the
Importance of this science. "Know myself" was
blazoned in letters of gold on the great Temple
of Athens. Unhappily, the very name of " Meta
physics I" has been time out of mind in bad
odor. Perhaps the sense was COMPOUNDED with
the sound, and many in disgust have made no
difference, whether physic or metaphysics was
thrown to the dogs; they would "none of it,
By most men and women the science of In
tellectual Philosophy is regarded as something
visionary and fanciful, about which nothing is
to be known with certainty, and by which they
are in no way to be benefited In fact, that it
is nothing else than bubbles blown up by astute
men for their own special amusement to see
the iridescence of their airy specuations in the
sunshine for an instant, then explode and van
ish into thin air. These to be followed by like
bubbles blown up by other great masters of the
science, whose soap-suds are mixed up of some
what different ingredients, or, if the same in diff
ferent combinations but whose creations are
of as little worth. Such persons say "Mey
want certainty and fxity in science, before
they shall spend their time and money about
it " and, doing SO, they resemble the man of
whom Boccaccio tells us in his preface to the
Decameron, who went about the streets of Flor
ence almost Naked with a roll of cloth upon
his shoulder, and when asked % WHY he did not
have his cloth made up into garments to clothe
himself with replied, I" he was waiting to see
what would be the last fashion,
Is it possible the greatest of all minds and
the most vrtuous of all men, from the DAYS of
Socrates down, have been laborously occupied
in blowing notwithstanding what is unattaina-
able, and, if attained, not worth the toll and
time devoted to the search So far from the
philosophy of the mind being bubble, it is the
mechanism of the soul. Every one who lives
must think and act 1t is the province of phi
losophy to teach us how best to exert our pow
ers of thinking and acting. This machinery is
alike III all. There are no castles in the race of
man. The peasant and the philosopher come
into the world on the same level; they both
know at the beginning of life as much about
God and the world but the peasant never at
tains to the secret of his knowledge; he does not
possess it under that superior form of thought
which is called philosophy. The little boy of
our own day brings to bear the same mechani-
cal and dynamcal forces, in raising a kite, that
DIR. Franklin used, when with his kite he drew
down the ghtnings-they both raised kites but
with very different degrees of knowledge of the
laws they thus exercised.
The late venerable and venerated DR.. Cha.
pin President of Columbian College, in this
city, speaking of the importance of this science
and its elevating effect, said, he had known the
aspect of a college student to change so soon as
he became interested in the study of Intellectu
al Philosophy. The eye, before dull, became
brilliant. 1t was lifting the veil off the soul,
and filling him with great thoughts and aspira-
tons, before unknown.
This work is published by Phillips, Sampson
& Co., Boston, who are taking the lead in pub
fishing the best books of the best writer's.
They have distributing houses in New York.
Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and cores
pondents in all our cities and chief towns. both
in the United States and British Provinces. from
whom the readers of the Era can readily pro-
cure this work. 1t is printed on good paper.
fair type, duodtcimO, 42G pages.
We had marked many passages for extracts,
but we have made this notice so long, we relin-
quish our purpose and do this the more
readily because we hope readers will make
the book their own. w.