The sun., 1886-12-05

prissd to zee this lad OF twenty In his criticism
Of one OF Hume's positions anticipate point
which Was 10 be made b. Henry Thomas Buckle
nearly half century later: How odd does
1t look. for inetance. 10 refer al the modinca-
tioDs OF national character to the influence OF
moral causes. Might IL not b asserted with
some piausibillty that even those which Hume
| donominates moral causes originate from
physical circumstances Whence but from the
perpetual contemplation OF his dreary glaciers
and rugged glens. from his dismal broodlngs
In his long and almost solitary nights. has the
Scandinavian conceived his feroclous Odin and
his horrid spsctres OF the deep? Compare this
with the copper castle and celestial garden OF
tho Arabians and We must admit that physical
causes have AN influence on man."
We hove eaid that Carlyle had but slender
| acquaintance with Greek literature: We have
his word for 1t In the following excerpt from q
lettot TO his friend Robert Mitchell: II am glad
to hear that you are getting forward so we'll
with Homer-I know almost nothing about
| him-having mover read ANYTHING but Pops's
translation. and not above slng0 book OF tho
original. and that several years ago. Indeed
| know very little Of the Greek. at any rate.
have several times begun to read Xsnophon's
Annlysis completely. but always gnve 1t up In
favor of something else. You complain that
nOtOIuG Nnut you uO A6NSOb u vtStl&o U0uIuO IL
what do you mako OF Homer2 The question
was answered by his correspondent about four
years afterwnrd. and Carlyle comments on the
answer In the following surprising strain. TO
him. at ali events. the unknown wns not mag
pilcent: Il WAS glad to learn that you
had finished the perusal OF Honor. Certainly
tho blind bard ia little Obliged BY your opinion
OF him: bolieye. however. candor 10. and that
is better. n from the admiration felt by
Casaubon. Scaiiger d Co.. and still moro BY the
crowds that bindly follow them. We could sub
stract that portion which originated In them
40 hollow admiration OF others for the same
object: and II. further. all afYectation could be
banished. fear a very Uncomfortable item
would rem ain. In fact MBonides has had his
dsy--at least tho better part OF 1t: the noon
was Eve and twenty centuries ago: the twilight
lfor he set In 1451 may last for another Ave
and twenty centurles-but It too must termi-
nate" Another OF Carlyle's paradoxicsi opIn-
ions relates to Racop's Essays. whose author.
BY the way. is repeatedly designated In these
letters as Lord Bacon. 1T would be Of little
avail" Carlyle thought. at tho ago OF a.
ITO criticise Baoon's Essays. 1t 10 enough
to say that Dugald Stewards opinion Of them
is higher than can attain. For atylc they are
rich and venerablo-for thinking. incorrect and
fanoiful" His estimate OF Gibbon underwent
considerable change before he had finished the
perusal OF tho decline apd Fall" At frat he
says: II do not like him his style is flowery:
bis sarcasms wicked: his notes oppressive.
often bsastly." But at tho end Of the cspa-
clous history he is willing to pronounce 1t q
| work OF immense research and splen did execu-
| tion. Alternately delighted and offended by
| the gorgeous colornR with which his fancy In
vests the rude and scanty materials Of his mar
| rattve; sometimes fatigued by the learnin
| OF his notes. occasionally amused BY their
liveliness. frequently disgustsd BY their OBJ
| scsnity. and anmrlcg or deplorlng tho
bitterness OF his skiful irony-I toiled
through his massive tones with exem.
plary patience. His style Is exuberant.
sonorous. and opigrammatic to degree that Is
often displeasing. He yields to Hume in ele-
Rance and distinctness. to Robertson In talent
for genera, disauisition. but he excels them
both in his species OF brief and shrewd remark.
for which he seems to have taken Tactus as q
model. more than any other that ! know OF.
| Tho whole historical triumvirate are abun.
dainty destitute OF viruous feeling. or indeed
| OF any feeling at all. wonder what boneft 10
derived from reading all this stuff. 1t Ia In
vain to tell US that our knowledge OF human
nature is increased by the operation. UssJul
knowledse OF that sort is acquired not BY read
author of Tho French Revolution" and OF the
lives Of Frederick tho Great and Crom-
we'll saw reason to modify In some do
gree the conception OF historians
function which he had formed At g..
But he nevor revised the Judgment which
he passed In his youth on Gibbon. - We
see from tho following slluslon in tho rsmi-
niscenoes which were psnned great many
years aitsrward. "Gibbon. in particular.
rsoollsct to havo road at the rate OF . volume .
day twelve volumes IN ALL: and have still .
0a;r analls ~ aA1Honn n .
into It since. It was Of all the books perhaps
the most Impressive on me In my then stage Of
investigation aud state OF mind. by no
means completely admired Gibbon. perhaps
not more than now do. but his winged sar-
casm. 80 quiet and yot SO conouslvely trans
piercing and killing dead. were often admira-
Bile. potent. and iluminatlys to me. Nor did
fail to recognize his great power OF investIcat-
Ing. ascertaining. OF grouping or narrating
though the latter had always then. as now.
something OF q Drury Lane character. the
colors strong but coarse. and set OF by lights
from the side scenes"
The scope OF Carlyls's studies during his
school teaching period would be only partially
apprshended II our extracts from his lettere
| were confined to his comments on literary
themcs. About half OF his leisure time. and mos
OF his concentrated effort. ssem to have been ex-
pended upon those scientific subjects for which
math hsmatics furnish indisp 4nsable instru.
msnts OF Investigation. for example: OPTICS.
astronomy. and chemistry. We find him porlng
over Newtcn's " "Principia." with con 81 iderable
perseverance, and little success" then Goint:
forward to Lcrlare. In whose -expostlons and
como uslons he advances with a diminishing
velocity" H0 onfssses to o CORES pondeni
that these authors are too knotty for con.
slant mpAnionshlp: but his divagatlons
arc by no mems frivolous. From Laplace.'
he says. turned aside into Loslie's Comics
and wont through 1t In search OF Two pro posi-.
tlons. which. whom In your geometrical voin
you win find little difficulty In demonstr ating
Take them II you will. I likewise also turned
aside into Charles Bossut's MGchaniQus. tt
study his denomination OF pendulums and hii
doctrine OF forces. Tho text IL often tediously
explanatory. and In the notes 1t is bat din
hallucination Of the truth that I can obtain
through the medium Of intsgrals and dlf1sren'
tials by which he communicates II. However
| r khok ho.1