Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-07-13

y sie s.ngcr for July. The number is good
although, perhaps, we should say that the
b, artc!A in it is most pungent review of
''Sa m. Hanilton's Philosophy" taken from
the london Times. The Messenger has, so far as
we an recall just now and generally failed in its
orr lal leading article, the failure has of course
bee serious drawback on its aim to be a la
Bla, wood, which it clearly desires. 1t has
doui ess done the best thing possible for this
mum r, in giving its first pages to something
bette than it was found possible to get up.
If .recollect right, some of the Sophomores
up at Canonsburg College, about year ago,
had restion for debate enquifing into the
possib. y of the s'unconditioned being cognizcd
and CO. eived by the mind or something to
that eft II ne knew where the affirmative
hero of at debate resided, we not sure but
what we ould send him this number of the
Me&senge with mark around the London
Times re CIV of Sir William Hamiltons theor-
les on the inject We took occasion to observe,
that the /. position for discussion seemed to US
painfully cavy one, and that the elaboration
of it must ave been quite trying to an audi
cnce Ate wading through with the review
of Sir Willis IS ideas on the subject, we are i'm
pressed still further with our conviction-
Wedon't two, er that Mr.. Punch once PROFOUND.
ed system metaphysics in the wonderfully
unique terms lat the London Times says he
did, He aske "Nhat is Matte,?" lie answer
ed, Never mi l." lie asked, ''What is mind?'
He answered, 10 matter" Truly that is very
nearly tic resu of metaphysical researches and
specnlatons. ell may we concur in the con-
clusion, that :" e first act of philosophy is to
doubt our know ge, and the last act of it is to
be certain of ignorance" Perhaps, in
view of what we have said before and at this
time, of "condil ned and unconditional" it
might be of some little interest to let the Lon
don Times explain IFS idea of the terms.
What is meant this curious phrase? What
is conditioned? l, means something that exists
only on conditions; he unconditional is some
thing that exists rr ;pective of conditions; and
! the philosophy OF conditioned is u system
which processes to lcidate the conditions of
the thinkable. Eve who has dipped into
philoSophic lore mus have come across n long
! list OF opposite terms which are constantly in
use, such as the finite and the infinite the rela-
tive and the absolute. the many and the one
difference and idcntit the concrete and the a5.
stract, the form and IT, substance, the phcuome-
nal and the noumcnal, .tcrmined thought and
Ipure thought, the cont gent and the necessary
The pairs of ideas co eyed in these pairs Of
terms are by 10 means same, and vet they
have so much similarity that it would be well if
VIC had prase capable expressing the antith-
cSIS which is common I, every pair alike. For
want OF a better word, William Hamilton
sums up all these pairs ideas under the names
of the conditioned and unconditional The
finite, the relative, the III ", the different, the
concrete, the formal, the phenomenal, the de-
termined, the contingent, C conditioned The
Infinite, the absolute, the e, the identical, the
abstract, the substantial, the noumenaI, the
pure, the necessary, are unconditional. We
can thus argue in short-h Of IL great num-
Der OF ideas of very warrior Specification, some
of them, as the Infinite ano the absolute, being
IN fact sworn enemies. n the thesis which
Sir William Hamilton undo axes to make good
lis this-that all our positive knowledge is only
of the conditioned; that our knowledge Of the
unconditional is purely neg i've; but that, al
though positive knowledge the unconditOn-
ed is denied to US, we are fOl ID on rational as
well as instructive grounds believe in what
we do not know The con toned is a wide
path open to the human lderstanding: on
either side lie the vast terrific es of the uncun-
diloned, which understanding cannot penetrate
and which belongs to Caith ale :, not unreaSon-
ing faith, not blind instinct, , t idle hope but
faith justified OF reason and npellcd of rea-
son to enter on her possession In other words,
all human knowledge lies DC zen two poles,
neither Of which is conceivable but one or the
other OF which must be true cause they are
contradictory
THE Moysville Uly) Eag1e Il describes Be.
riah Magotin in debate at wysli We feariti is
apparent that the editor of the tglc is not n
Magoffin man
MagotEin's courage, like Bob res, seemed
oozing out at his fingers end, al the mercury
in his political thermometer secu to fall lust
as fast as Bells arose. He was arv mad be-
cause the Opposition wanted TO /, , the Demo
Gratis out of Office. He ravcd al raatcd and
IJerkcd Oft his cravat The weat was cool,
but he was hot. He charged US " wanting to
coalcsce with the Abolilonists, al, was wrothy
because there prospect of / Bells get
ting the foreign vote; made the sa, old clear.
Jas mud speech on the iaterpenH question
leaving us still in doubt whether ! ty did, or
Katy didn't, whether Katy W, j or she
wouldn't.
IN the New York Law Reports, find the
particulars of a singular suit brought va young
lady to compel her guardian to dis sc to her
the names of her parents, and other r,iculars
l-F