New-York tribune., 1874-11-17

superior'y over the beasts he arSs from the fpnda
due, OF two faculties which nave ID common MIN
% beasts namely, the faculty o. receiving
IRON external objects and he facaliy OF o
those impressions. From these premises u was easy W
deduce tho conclusion, that ina.mucn as our ~, III
oiher ANIMALS xere not for the external pecu't@es @
for which ace 80 emnenty disIhRussnuas;;, waowc
be- therefore. TO those external clries we owr
everything that is most valuable. t. take any Quiz.
view is sllow ourselves To be deceived os rant
men Furthermore memory, he asserted, Is only one
OF the organs of sensibity; and Judgment Is op'S
From these premises Hevetius argued that an our our
notions of virtue and duty must DC esec oy Of
physical enjoy ment which they afiofL The oIesa wi,
tues as we'll as The meanest wees are n exccse XII
emotions spring directly from our pns sea ron
biIlties and as sensbliiics are dependent upon
the world. 1t follows that .na We
aud everything that We are We owe 10 % ,no nd can
which surround In short, man IL hOthne anu o
be nothing except what he is made by the circumstances
In which nc IL paced.
The portraiture of Rousseau which serves as ah
overture TO discussion of his social doctrines
though not drawn in the coors of the rainbow must
be considered an apt exhibition OF that linpuiS'e
inconsistent and versatile specimen OF uncleah anu
unhealthy humanity.
Ii is somewhat singular that one whose life was SO iu
NJ moral whose character was IN
many ways, utterly contempuDle snouu haHe eooS
his feiow.mep As reads his writings, ono rennded
sometimes of Burke and some times OF JoD lfoteii o
seemed never well pleased as when paradng MS ho
rows In public, and his whole character as Mr. Lowell
well said OF him. seemed TO consist OF that
mixture which Is ready enough 10 shed tears before man.
but which, at the same te absolutely devoid or all
genuine feeling He could advise parents pathetltaly
concerning the treatment of their children ana theh
send his offspring to founding hospital. Iheso
contradictions OF his nature were every nahnS @
Themselves manifest. His soul was Overflowlng win
sentiments bnt his sentiment was OF that nervous type
which itself at time in tears ana at aDotuer
iu the most ahject cruelty In his thoughts he was per
petualy dealing with unrcaites. ana then attemptns
to apply the results OF his reasoning 10 tne nro prop
,fo rx-Ia IS,
indeed to great extent, the ptcuartes OF 'ne Wits
in Rousseau tndt the very embodiment ana perec
Rui notJSbstanding these weaknesses, there can he
no doubt that ROusseaus influence was more powerful
and more arreachiDg than that OF any OF his cOten
nnraIies In saving tIis / remember that he lived IN
ibe very age which could boast of the two who
bodied in themselves the greatest literary genius ana
the highest literary culture OF the eighteenth century
Tae merits OF Rousseau, strictly literary man. are
worthy Of comparison with those OF Burke ana Vol
tare and yet in one respect, he the superior OF
them both. greater measure than other man OF
tme he possessed the art OF directing and mod,ng
the thoughts OF Others Burke always astonished but
never convinced. Vota;re naugurated fashion, but
was fashion Of scoing OF doubling; that Is to say OF
npgston But Rousseau the founder OF a school.
He was the intellectual father Of the political senti
nentasts of the present century ChoieauorIand, Jel
ierson. Byron Lamarne. and Victor Hugo, besides
host Of lesser characters, were all his legitimate chill
dren.
We have no space to follow the author at length
in his luminous exposition of the ideas and theories
which eliminated in the terrOTs of the first Revou-
ton, and were brought 10 CrlSlS Win lne uoWnia
of the second Empire. Cordially can we commend
his work to the attention of thinking men for the
solidity of it's structure aud the ample suggestive
ness of its details. His conclusions not to be
accepted ON account of the vigor with which they
are urged. but they demand liberal hospitality for
their weightiness and importance. The literary ex-
ecution OF the volume is accordance with its
earnest and thoughtful spirit. 1t is written
in q crisp, juicy, aud effective style. betraying
the influence of profound convictions, but with no
attempt at rhetorical adornment. The source of
its power is not in words, but ideas. and it will be
more welcome to those who read for instruction than
to those who read for entertainment. Many pas
sages, however, especially the sketches of char
acter with which it abounds, are examples OF terse
and muscular composition. The author has Jared i'll
at the hands Of his printers and perhaps his distance
from the types has prevented his correction of the
proofs Such errors PrestIy for Priestlcy. Volt
ayie for Voltaire, Edscin Burke for Edmund Burke,
Sir John FonteSQue for Sir John Fortescue, Turguet
for TurgOt. Place de Ia Basti for Basile are Ger
tainly not creditable to the metropolitan press.