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86 ©tie %tK*tt> PATOBPAV
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EUPHRANOR,. Euphranor, a Dialogue on You...
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THB CHURCH IN DAK GBR. " God is Love" A ...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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A New Philosophy: The Alpha. The Alpha; ...
not close this notice without emphatically recording our admiration of the author ' s varied powers . He seems to be a self-taught man—a solitary , independent thinker who has worked out his conclusions for himself . Had he read much philosophy he would have seen that his ideas are no novelties ; but they are discoveries to him ,, and bear the stamp of original thought . In dash , vigour , sly touches of humour , and occasional bursts of eloquence the book is also remarkable , and shows the native force of the author ' s intellect . Had we not already extended this article beyond due limits we would quote some admirable extracts , but the curious reader must consult the volume itself .
86 ©Tie %Tk*Tt> Patobpav
86 © tie % tK * tt > PATOBPAV
Euphranor,. Euphranor, A Dialogue On You...
EUPHRANOR ,. Euphranor , a Dialogue on Youth . Pickering . Cicero has left us , among his legacies , an agreeable and ingenious defence of Old Age—which has been reproduced in many forms ; but no one , that we remember , has written a defence of Youth . Probably because Youth has written its own eulogies in its glorious deeds , its glowing enthusiasms , its health , insolence , and vigour , its beauty and its charm ! Probably also because it felt that no defence was necessary . " The history of heroes , " says Disraeli , "is the history of Youth . "
And this is somewhat the opinion of the author of Euphranor , who adopts the definition of Chivalry given by Kenelm Digby in his Godefridus , " the general spirit which disposes men to generous and heroic actions , " and concludes that Youth is the age of all Chivalry . This is backed up by a weighty aphorism of Bacon ' s : " for the moral part youth will have the preeminence as age hath for the politic . " Nay , since we are upon authorities , let us not forget Goethe , who in his old age told Eckermann that if he could have his way young
men should be appointed even to the highest offices of the state , they being really the most capable ; and Plato —( whom Euphranor is so fond of . quoting that he will be glad to receive this text)—says , in the Republic , that great works are only accomplished by youths : veuv ^ e navref ol [ AcycLkoi kocI ol iraXAot wewi—though some one standing beside him might have whispered " you did not write the Republic , nor the Laws , nor the TimcEus , nor the Pheedon in youth ; and your fellow-citizen Sophocles was ninety when he wrote the masterpiece of tragedy . "
But why dispute as to the age of greatness ? That is the age of greatness in which the man is great . He is always young while his genius is creative . It is not the sprinkled snow of years upon his head which makes a man old , but the loss of elastic hope , enthusiasm , and creative power . We leave the discussion here and return to Euphranor , which we commend to our readers as a scholarly , thoughtful , charming little volume , that leaves the mind hungering for more . The imitation of classic dialogue is admirable , because it is so thorough an adaptation of the original spirit . Instead of the stillness of imitations it has the free
movement of an original fancy . The classical reader will trace the author ' s step among the footprints of the ancients , but to the ordinary reader it will seem as ii" the author followed the nictates of his own fancy . The framework is simple yet delightful . The narrator is a physician at Cambridge , with more friends than patients . Kuphranor , a y oung collegian , somewhat 1 ' useyite , calls upon him one lovely morning , and iiiniats on dragging him out into the country somewhere . They row ,
they walk , they dine , and they discuss . Other figure « cross the scene , just to give it variety—all of them admirably touched , especially Lycion , the apathetic young Englishman , whose life is a lounge , a cigar , and a game at billiards—but who is really capable of high and manly lif ' o if he were not spoiled by the affectation' gentlemanly apathy . Ah a Hpeeimcm of the quiet humour which plays in lambent flames through this little book , and serves to express character , read this passing ucutence : —
" . Lyeion now called up to hi . w friends in tho billiard roofti , one of whom appeared at the window , cut- in hand , and shook hit * head , Haying , however , in a confidential vray , that ' all would he right in a few minutes , ' and ho retired . On whioh . Lycion had nothing to do for it hut light another cigar , and lying down on Imh buck with hi « hat over liitt eyes , compose himself ' to inattention . " The conversation is discm-Hivo enough , but it always returuN to the main topics , which aro youth and the education of youth . Kuphranor , uh a Flatonifit , in very unwilling to concede any influence to the body over the mind , whereas tho physiological atudiea ojf tho doctor have naturally led him
to view the connection as extremely intimate . Euphranor appeals to the " ' Instances we have of the greatest minds dwelling in the craziest and puniest bodies . ' " ' Great parts , ' I answered , ' as great wit in Pope , for instance . ' " ' Mens curva in corpore curvo , ' quoted . Euphranor . 4 , wit itself is said to be a kind of dishonesty of thought , so let it e ' en be a disease—of the body , if you like . But look at Pascal now—* « i Well , ' said I , ' great mathematical * nd reasoning faculty . But these do not make up a Man . A bon-mot , a poem , a problem , are no more specimens of the whole Man than that celebrated brick was of the whole house . What is your author in his Affections and Temper as well as his understanding ? What as relative , friend ^ neighbour , and so forth ? the " whole , sound , round-about " manas Locke says . '
, , , " ' But Pascal was a notoriously religious and good man , ' argued Euphranor . " * Notoriously ascetic , * said I , that is to say , of a diseased religion . He would not let hia family be too much about him lest their mutual love should deprive God of hia due . I should instance Pascal ' s religionas looking much like the refraction from a sickly body . '" The Doctor , indeed , throughout shows a sensible , open , manly mind , and his scheme for the education of a young gentleman is that of one who knows his subject . Here is one passage from it : —
" ' After the due dandling and rocking of first infancy , give him a clear stage to roll in : he will find his own legs when they are strong enough to bear him . Then let him romp as much as he likes ; and roar too—a great part of children ' s fun , and of great service to the lungs . And that ( besides the fresh air ) ia so great an advantage in sending children to play out of doors , they don ' t disturb the serious and nervous elders of the house , who ruin the health and spirits of thousands by " Be quiet , child—Don ' t make such a noise , child , et cetera . ' - „ " ' Ah , I remember , ' said Euphranor , ' how you used to play at hide-and-seek with us in the shrubbery , rather exciting us to rebellion , when my aunt ran out to warn us in , or reduce us to order . '
" ' Or for fear your dresses should be dirtied , ' rejoined I , * for that is one of the fetters laid upon children ' s wholesome growth . They must early learn to look respectable : as also shouting is vulgar , you know . Then what scieaming from the window if a little dew lay on the grass , or a summer cloud overcame the sky . ' " I suppose you would have shoes with holes in them on purpose to let in water , as Locke does , ' said Euphranor , laughing . '" I wouldn ' t keep a child from exercise in the dirt because he has no whole shoes at home , at all events , ' answered I . " ' He catches cold . ' " ' I dose him instantly and effectually . ' " ' Bat he dies / " '
' ' Then , as a sensible woman said , "he is provided for . " Your own Plato , I think , says it isbest the sickly and delicate should die off early at once . ' " ' Rather a Pagan doctrine , if he does , ' replied Euphranor . ' However , we will suppose Sir Launcelot survives—what else ?' « < Where did we leave him ? ' said I , — ' O yes , —I
remember—in the mud—where , by-the-bye ( much better than if shut up in a school-room or parlour ) , he makes acquaintance with external nature , sun , moon , stars , trees , flowers , stones , so wholesome in themselves , and the rudiments of so many ologies for hereafter . ' " ' Not forgetting animals , ' said Euphranor . ' By no means , ' said I , * and especially the horse and the dog , whose virtues we said he would do well to share . ' " ' Horses and dogs , in the women ' s apartments ! ' said Euphranor , laughing . ' O ' yes , ' I « aid , ' his acquaintance with the dog begins in the cradle : and the horse , who , as we said , lias given his very name to the spirit of Youth , Devotion , and Courage we began talking about—Sir Launcelot cannot too soon make his acquaintance—to pat him—to feed him—to be set upon his back , either in the stable , or during exercise up and down the avenue . '
" ' And it is wonderful , ' Euphranor observed , ' what forbearance the nobler animals show for children ; how great dogs suffer themselves to be pulled about for hours l > y them : and horses will carry boya with a kind of proud docility , who would kick and plunge under a grown-up rider . Perhaps they like children '* soft voices and light weights ; for which very reason , I have heard , they aro more manageable by women . ' "' Yes , ' Baid I , * nml have they not also a sense of humour that is amused at beiitg bestrid by urchins ; ay , and real generosity , too , that will not take advantage of weakness . ' " We give altio liin Humming up : —
" What I have to turn out is , not a Genius , but a Young ( Juktlkman , qualified at lnaat for tho common professions , or trades , if you like it . Or if he Imvo means and inclination to live independently on his estate , may , in spite of hid genius , turn into a very good huBband , father , neighbour , and magistrate . No mean vocation , in my opinion , who really believe that healthy , courageous good humour , and activity of soul , do radiate a more happy atmosphere throughout a little circle , and , through that , imperceptibly , to the whole world , than cart-loads of poems , sermons , and essays , by dyspeptic divines , anthorn , and universal philanthropists , whono fine feelings und bad Htouiirchn make them tyrants in their own families , und whose hooka go to draw others into a like unhappy condition with themselves . " The ; volume may he read in an hour , and no oho will regret the hour npcut over it .
Thb Church In Dak Gbr. " God Is Love" A ...
THB CHURCH IN DAK GBR . " God is Love" A Sermon preached in St . Peter ' s Church Brighton , on Sunday , December 29 , 1850 . By tbe Reverend H . M . Wagner , M . A ., Vicar of Brighton . ¦ Hamilton , Adams , and Co . A Letter addressed to the Vicar of Brighton , in Reply to a Ser mon entitled " God is Love . " By William Coningham . C Gilpln . A Letter to the Btttrend H . M . Wagntr , on AU Sermon . By John Nelion Goulty , Protettant Dissenting Minister . C . Gilpin . God is Love , and demands Church Rates f If you are startled at the impiety of this logic blame not us . The logic is not our own ; to the Vicar of Brighton belongs the merit of this incomparable syllogism ; but whether the English People will raise statues in honour of the modern Aristotle we venture not to prophesy . One thing we will say : If the Church is ' in danger , " as loud voices tell us , it will never be rescued by vicars of Brighton . It appears that a large majority in the vestry negatived a motion for a new Church Rate . Those
who wanted the rate were in nowise perplexed by this decision against them ; the chairman declared the votes of the majority null , and carried the motion by- the minority ! The rate thus made was enforced by violence : two parishioners who refused payment are now involved in a lawsuit . To defray expenses of this lawsuit , and assist these stedfast men in their refusal to pay a minority rate , a committee has been formed in Brighton and subscriptions collected . Whereupon the vicar , incensed with Christian indignation , and alarmed for his rates , preaches a sermon on the text , " God is Love . " This sermon , and two replies to it , lie on our table .
We will not be merciless—we will not treat this clerical sermon with the same seriousness as we should treat a lay production ; faults of logic , and faults of style , may be passed over in silence , as they only come from a vicar who is accustomed to have it all his own way with an uninquiring- audience . We will merely remark , in passing * , that clergymen of his calibre should
be very cautious how they step out of the pulpit into the public streets . This sermon , we have no doubt , waa sufficiently effective from the pulpit . It did as well as another to sleep over . But when the public see it in print , they will judge it by the light of reason and say . . . . But we promised not to be cruel ! Besides , he is in better hands : Messrs . Coningham and Goulty have already ripped his sermon to pieces .
Mr . Coningham's Letter contains much valuable matter on the legal and constitutional side of this subject of Church Rates . We extract one passage : — " It will be worth while to trace briefly the gradual steps by which the High Church party has endeavoured inseiflsibly to build up a precedent in favour of tbe validity of ; church-rates ( those free-will offerings of the faithful on which so many law-suits are pending ) when levied by the minority of the vestry . The Church in the first instance violated ! the general canon law of Europe , by shifting from its own shoulders the liability for church repairs , and endeavouring , by custom , to fix the burden
on the parishioners , who voluntarily taxed themselves for the purpose . The custom being established , the next step was to enforce it by ecclesiastical censures , and when these fuiled , by the aid of the temporal courts . Finally , when the law proved insufficient , the novel and unconstitutional principle of government by minorities , a princip le unknown to the laws of England , was declared first iu the ecclesiastical and then m the temporal courts ; the custom of a voluntary tax upon the conscience thus being converted into an obligation which the parishioners ' by the common law of England are bound to perform , ' and the vestry reduced to a mere ministerial body without a voice iu tho matter . " Having settled the legal point , Mr . Coningham « ayn : — " And now , sir , I will proceed to investigate the morality of your sermon , and of your proceeding * in tuu 8 citing two of your parishioners to appear in the Court of Arches for non-payment of rates , and in refusing to wait till the Braintree case should be decided in the highest court of appeal . "It appears to me that you assume two thing * which are not founded ou fact . First , that a church-rate made by the minority of vestry 1 « a valid rate by the law of England : the single case now set up as a precedent being uotually under appeal . And . secondly , that you and
your wardens have been oompelle-d by * sense of duty , and b y the necessity of repairing the parish churches ,-rtlio ' tiling ' being <¦ not of our own seeking , ' to engage »" an expensive law-suit . On the voluntary pri «« : ip l 4 >~" the principle upon which Christ deBlred Peter to pay tribute—you might have readily collected not merely the penny rate to whioh by rigid atturneyism you have bee " reduced , but that much desired sixpence m the pouud , which you vainly attempted to carry on the 28 th of May , 184 ( i , and which was refused upon a poll by 1328 votes to 764 . in the fnoe of this ntntement , supported as It i « by an unanswerable nrniy of facts , you will hardly venture to affirm that iu thus dragging Mc «« rs . Ueutloy and Mighcll into tho Ecclesiastical Courts you aie only
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 25, 1851, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_25011851/page/14/
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