The Express. — 1852-01-29 (London, England)

LEMURS BY MR. WALTER, M.P.—On Tuesday night a lecture on " Life and Death of Socrates," was delivered at the Mechanics-hall, Nottingham, by Mr. Walter, M.P. The room, which is one of the largest in the town, was densely crowded, and several hundreds returned home unable to gain admission. Mr. Newham, one of the vicepresidents, presided. Mr. Walter (who was received with considerable applause), said, that having undertaken, at the request of the committee of the Mechanics' Institute, to deliver a lecture during the course of the present season, he thought he should best consult the wishes of his hearers' and at the same time relieve himself from some difficulty, by refurring the choice of a subject to the gentlemen most likely to be acquainted with their tastes. In selecting, out of se- I vend which were proposed to them, the subject that had been announced fur the evening, they had done their best to consult the credit of their constituents, if not of the lecturer himself. In opening the topic selected for discussion, he said it would be superfluous to dwell on the advantages biography possessed as a channel for moral instruction over other species of literature. If history had been correctly defined to be " philosophy teaching by example," it might be asserted that moral philosophy was best illustrated and enforced in that branch of history which was dedicated to the memory of the wise and the good. Of those who prior to the Christian era taught mankind that most important knowledge—knowledge of themselves, and tore off the mask from self-satisfied ignorance and conceit, the greatest beyond all comparison wu Socrates. He, however, did more than this : he was not only the first moral philosopher, but the first martyr to philosophy. The poet who had so exquisitely pourtrayed the terrors and solaces of the winter season, dwelt with delight on the evening task, most suitable to that season, of111Mgt muses withuds the mighty dead, 4•14113 ssaleentale, mewed, As gsisbarlatat. sole limo( manned With NY ea& arms sad Its wised • world. The claims, however, of Socrates wan of a higher order, and the poelyweeeeded to describe him as the man— WY Maly pal la a essrupsad state Aspisat tha moat Irma' doe, mood lawilisMia, ads sessies kaly law Olooleg. lied= winnow death, Greet metal Weibw—seimet al mankindAdopthig, thee, the poet's sogigoideo, he (the lecturer) propo•ed beruPes an hoar of s winter's evening with a slight sketch of the life and character of this remarkable man, who, prompted by his heavenly monitor, whose voice he had obeyed from his childhood, and undaunted by the scoffs and insults to which his mission exposed him, devoted a long life to the moral reformation of his countrymen, and crowned the arduous career of a missionary with the triumphant death of a martyr. He deemed it no disparagement to the missionaries of • purer faith to apply a similar term to Socrates, because hi was firmly persuaded (end he believed no one could attentively consider his history without coming to the same conclusion) that Socrates acted under the influence of Divine inspiration. The whole tenor of his life and the whiten°e of his teaching justified this Opinion. No sell appointed teacher ever led so strict and blameless a life, sir iaeulcated a system of morality so simple and unpretending that it could hardly be called a system at all. Socrates founded no school—he propounded no new revelation . the text on which he preached was that which had been inscribed for ages on the temple of Delphi— " Know thyself;" and the means by which he taught his hearers to obtain that knowledge were the subjection of the passions and the confession of their own ignorance. A passage from the defence of Socrates before his judges was then quoted in proof of this opinion. Mr. Walter proceeded to sketch an outline of the life and character of Socrates. Afterwards he translated a few passages from Xenophon and Plato, illustrative of his style of teaching, and then vividly portrayed his conduct on the occasion of his trial and condemnation These disquisitions, which were somewhat lengthy, were listened to with the I the most profound attention, the deep silence which pre' sailed being broken occasionally by warm plaudits greeting those sentiments of the Greek philosopher, and many of the historical iucidenta mentioned, which the minds of the audience appreciated as markedly applicable to more modern times. The lecturer said he could not conclude without drawing attention to the contrast which the Philosophy of Socrates presented to that purer and more perfect system of teaching in which it was oar privilege to have been instructed. Mr. Walter retired to a rest on the platform amid much applause. Votes of thanks to the lectuier and chairman of the evening closed the proceedings. St'IEIDE AT GUY it HOSPlTAL—Yesterday morning, shortly after 6 o'clock, great alarm was created among the inmates of Guy's Hospital by the discovery of the suicide of a patient named William Cayley, aged 46 years. Deceased had been admitted on the 26111 of November last with a tumour of the side, from which he suffered considerable pain. Ile seemed, however, to proven favourably under the treatment, and on Tuesday night he was left by the nurse in Neeman's Ward quite calm, but when she went yesterday morning to the bedstead where the deceased lay, she found that he had a severe wound of the throat, which divided all the main arteries of the neck. A razor was lying by the side of him, and he was quite insensible. The dresser was called to the unfortunate man, who had lost a large quantity of blood, and every assistance was afforded by the medical officers of the institution, but he expired at 3 o'clock last evening.