New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-08-22
NenQuk daily Gribn,te
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

kCo
Neither the speculative opinions dor the intel.
lectual calber Of Mr.. Lewes especially qualify bum
to be the scientific historian Of philosophy. The
subjects with which philosophy is conversant relate
not to the laws Of the material world, nor to the
chan sipg phenomena of inward experience, but
to the primary, absolute ideas which compose the
essence of the human soul and underIie the opera
tion, Of feeling and thought. The enumeration.
ANALYSIS. Arrangement, and relation of these ideas
has been the problem Of philosophers in every age
Of scientific activity. from Plato and Aristotle to
Kant and Cousin. The history of philosophy is the
record Of the solution of this problem What is
the nature Of virtue 7 What is the distinction
between right and wrong What are the priuc-
ples of beauty and the criterion Of truth What
is the origin and test Of knowledge These are
oues,ous which have engaged the attention of
mspy of the brightest intellects which the world
has produced and the results of their investigations
form the history Ct philosophy. Now Mr.. Lewes
proft sses to hsve no faith in the reality of philo
sopbica ideas, and maintains that all study devoted
TO them is labor thrown away. Following the lead
Of Comte, Of whose system of Postivsm he is
perhaps, the most eminent representative in
England, he argues that philosophy so-caled is
always the product of metaphysical age; that it
occupies .pbere of inquiry which has no preten-
siops 10 validity; that it is the child of fancy and
hypothesis and not of observation; and that as
science, or a knowledge of material phenomena, is
de yeloped, philosophy, or the search for meta
IN and ia
point of view in which the present work is writ
ten. Hence. it is called the Biographical
history of philosophy, the author assuming that
philosophy always destitute of spring of vitality,
is now detunct, and that nothing remains for it but
to indte its eptaph. This volume, accordingly, IS
an elaborate and ingenious tissue of special plead
ing. designed t, prove from the alleged achieve
ments of philosophy, that it is an iatruder IN the
domain of science morbid excrescence rather than
a normal growth of the human mind and that with
the immense enlightenment of the nineteenth
century. the time has come to administer to 1t the
parting yiaticun. give it magnificent burial, and
pronounce it's funeral Grafton. MIR. George Henry
Lewes is the selfappointed Mark Antony to de-
| claim over the dead body.
He has certainly shown just estimation OF his
own powers in taking the role of funeral orator.
with the duty of an undertaken beside, instead OF
attempting to gyean accurate analysis OF the pro-
found philosophical systems to which the love OF
speculative inquiry has given birth. tie is not
man of deep reflection, though of singular nimole-
| ness of thought; with no trace OF the vigorous
power of abstraction which enabled Aristotle and
Kant to make such fine and just psychological dis
tinctions be has great acuteness in detecting su-
perfcial points of difference; he is brisk. some
times even to pertness, fluent as mass meeting
politciap but with no cautiOusness or subtlety Of
statement; evidently scholar of varied and ele-
CANT accomplishments, but with no remarkable
| breadth of view or clearness of perception on
large SCALE and with neither accuracy of Judgment
nor rigOr of taste.
With little respect, accordingly, for Mr.. Lewe
as philosopher, or the historian Of philosophy, we
cheerfully accord him the merit of being an agreea
bic narrator of personal Incidents and with his
lively dcton and copOus illustrations, the perusal
of bis volume is le,s q task than a pastime He
often offtnds by his superhuous rhetorical vvacty
but on the whole, it is quite curious, and not I'M
pleasant, to see how the great digntaries OF the
church philosophical fare in the hands of such
heather, who has neither faith in inspiration nor
reverence for antiquity. Some OF his miniature
sketches will bear repetition and present the most
favorable specimens Of bis manner.
SOCRATES.
| Socrates was profoundly religious man. He was,
moreover as we learn from Aristotle, man OF that
cbnlir
been observed in persons of unusual religious tervor
such is implied in those momentary eAatatohs OF
| the mind which mistaken for divine visits ana
when the rush Of thought came upon him with strange
warning voices he believed it was the Gods who spoke
directly to him. Unless we conceive Socrates as
| profoundly religious man, we shall imscohcei'e tue
whole spirit OF bis life and teaching. In many re-
spects be was fanatic but only in the noble sense Oh
| the word: man. Ike Carlyle, intoerant, vehement,
possessed by bis IDEAS but, like Carlyle peser vea
from al the worst consequences OF SUCH Intolerance
ard possession by immense hunor aha tendeI
| heart. His Saturnine melancholy was renewed ny
LAUGHTER which softened and humanized aspir other
| wise not less vehement than that of Domino or
Calvin Thus STRENGTHENED and thus sottened Socra
ties stands out as the grandest figure III the word
Pantheon the brayest, truett, SIMPLEST "lseS' Vi HAL
| kind.
DIOGENEs.
In his old age Diogenes wac taken cspuve ny Pl-
rates who carried him 10 Crete, ard exposed nun ior
sale ss a slave. On being asked what ne coulo 10
be replied. "Govern men: sell me, therefore; 10
| ono who wants a master" Aeniades Wea.ny
Corintban, struck with this reply, purchased hun,
and on returning to Conth, gave him his liberty ana
consigned his children to his educaton The cunaieh
taught to be Cynics much to their own satIssc
tion. II was during this period that bis worm re-
| nowned interview with Alexander took place. Inc
prince, surprised at not seeing Diogenes joining the
crowd Of biz fstterers, went to see him. He found
the Cynic sitting in his tub backing in the sun. t a
Alexander the Great" said he am Di1gtn S;, u r.
Cypic" was the reply. Alexander then asked MN II
there was any Ting he could do for him Yes sana
aside from between me and the sun" Surprised az
such indifference to prncey avosn ndi dEmd St
erto have witnessed-he exclaimed, Were l not