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h ¦ AgBiE 26,18S6Q TMIE L E ± IH^B^ 4M
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STORY OF A BLUE-BOTTLE. La Folle du Logi...
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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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bestowing it on psychology and : the history of Philosophy , might hare been left in MS . without public loss . The Lectures on the early schools are pleasantly written , but we , who read them , only & fortnight ago , are- utterly unable to recal anything they contain—a proof that no vivid impression was produced .: - ¦ Very different is the second volume , which is entirely devoted to Plato and to an analysis of Aristotle's treatise De Animd . This is a rare and admirable volume , and if republished by itself would , we have little doubt , hold its place on every philosophic shelf . In these Lectures Mr . Butler is not only handling topics with wbich he is familiar , but has acquired greater mastery in exposition . He has studied Plato with rare zeal , and his enthusiasm gives eloquence to his style , which carries the reader on , even when that reader is , like ourselves , opposed to the conclusions aimed at .
Considering the enormous reputation of Plato it is astonishing how few men have , read the writings they are told to prize so highly . One of the few was certainly Mr . Butler , and the result of his studies has been a passionate admiration of Plato and the Platonic Philosophy . That , much of this admiration is owing to the supposed affinities between Platonism and Christianity is evident in many passages . But without such a prestige Mr . Butler would probabl y have bowed before it j the bent of his mind being peculiarly ^ in that semi-sentimental , semi-logical direction taken by minds which delight in certain doctrines more because they are " consolatory " than because they are true ; and delight also in the subtleties of logical fence . This is not the place to discuss the Philosophy of Plato , and we content ourselves with simply indicating Mr : Butler ' s position . For those who admire Plato , either upon trust or after study of his writings ^ these Lectures will be delightful and instructive . For * those whtf take a much
more moderate view of the Platonic Philosophy , these Leetiires will also have a charm such as the writing in general on that subject seldom reaches . 6 feat as Mr . Butler's admiration is ; it is not indiseriminating . I * of example , in noticing the . sweeping condemnation of- 'the Platonic Dialogues by Ast- — who sacrifices twenty-one- ^ Mr . Butler ^ well says i— . > - The reasons upon "which this bold decision is founded are totally unsatisfactory . An ideal is forined of the Platonic style , and all which seems to fall below this conception is declared to be the feeble imitation of some ambitious pupil . Some construct this ideal in ieferenceto the perfection 4 fstyle , others in reference to force < rf doctrine ; sonielook to the ar . tiat , ; ftthet & torthpphilQsophejr i ; but . all : equally , adopt a principle agauistiwhich thegenuinenessqf none of the more voluminous authors of antiquity could stand . No onels more ready than ntjyself to adcait _ that among the JPlatonie dialogues are some Whicbi appeal miserably iinWofthy ' o RepabW ; but when I " find the Bi pyids Minor , '¦ miih its ¦ barren paradoxes ; authentic
pated by the express reference of Aristotle , % learn to distrust . & priori critacisra . Plater ^ ^ writings were spread pver a long and meditative life ; " they were produced under varipus , influence ? , and ; probably ' imder ^ a & yl ciia ' ng ^^ ' or '' te * inp ^ and-feeling '; the Golinnbas of the Ideal World cbuld ^' nbt ai # ayi' stee ^ steildily ; anflv e ^ ultingly for the-land of ' . his discoveries a , nd his reputation ; : nor iSan we teH what conjunctures ma y fca ^^ eij pertuae ^ arid and . unprofitable . The partiality of a waiter for early essays may have induced TIato to permit imperfect sketches to sHelte ' r thelx imperfectfon undrirtfie shadow- of riiaturer grteatness ; iri ' dhis deep Teverence for Socrates . imiay < have' sometimes induced him to'forbear' qualifying withhig ownamore . finished excellence a . few ; of those paradoxical discussions in ^ Chich the old master kept , his unrivalled powers of casuistry in play , and breathed himself for more momentous encounters / By the aid ^ f Wca c 6 nsideratibns as tlese ; there are hone of the works of Hato authenticated-byJfairc ^ terna ? evidence , whichf-we may Hot receive as possible , or probable , products of Ids mind . : , •• ¦; .. . ¦• .-, ¦ 11 . ,-. y- ' ¦
We are all in the habit of talking of the Platonic Philosophy ' asaf there were such aphilosophy expounded tin Pl & to ' s Dialogues ; but in truth ' one £ » g nfc jas well talk , of Shakspeare's Philosophy , or Molifere ' p . Hot onjyjs Plato everywhere rambling and discursive , but he is everywhere self-contradictory . The doctrines taught in one dialogue are contradicted by ' those taught in another . ' Certain general views 6 n Me ' thod ' aire pretty constant , and ^ certain particular opinions-ifre frequent'j but any < jo-ordinated system of thought is not to . be extracted froin ^ the Dialogues . Looking broadly at the teaching , we may , with Mr . ^ Sutler ,, recognise in it a twofold aspect ;— - ^ . fthe , teaching of , Plato presented a . double aspect , and each foupd ita exaggerated likeness in succeeding , forms of philosophy . On the one hand , the constant depreciation of the ' certainty and value of such Knowledge as is derived through' the channel of * KeJ * e » we » , was represented in the sceptical , or setni-Bceptical , succession of the & cademjps j on , the other ,-the loftier vio ^ va of his more abstract tenets . were resumed , and , , top often disfigured , by the * Alexandrian mystics . In exhibiting the ultimate lormsoi aoctrraea
ma when separately and exclusively Received , these schools afford very valuable instruction to the student of Plato . { ' The 4 oable result is highly ^ characteristic of the localities where it manifested itself . The subtle intellect ofj «« reeoo soon adopted as itafavourite .. thafifoment , pf ., Ph ^ ojijanvwhich gave room for endless , distinctions , strange paradoxea , ar » a scholastic cbrifli & j ' * Oriental genius , of Alexandria found fooa'for its musing quietism i * thb ^ e remote M' etherfal i } becul £ lonfl which seemed to justify a life of meditaUv * inoictiony and' even to < exhibit , : aa its reward and inhqrjtance , an immediate commerce wi , th , heavan ,,. JNqiinquiry can be more interesting and jirofltahlo to those who deaire tp grow wise upon recorded errorto erect , as ifwero , warning beacoris upon every perilous tfassKge In tn ' vast sea of human speculation—than that which oxaminos these two developments of Platonism , and ,. traces rto their co « sum . entAte ejfQoreacencq the , germs which already ^ y eoatte « Kl WP" & h . ## ° l . ^ ° « ° 8 . ° t *« master , Mmsolf , . Every w . q feels . tfrtfi the danger pf TO . Kr $ ? iT B } 1080 ? ? from lts cATUcat hour , was its bias to exclusive ' contemplativeness ? and in those developments you have the inevitable result . ! -
Orifa leading characteristic of Plato ' s niind—a characteristic' eminently unphilosophuj , but eminentl y calculated to captivate the majority—is that ) r ^^ fe & SjW ^ ¥ <^»»^» t 68 his « i dealism . " He never looks at tbdi thing' -bcft ) re hW ; never considers it in it 4 'totality , iVits manysided Bigmficattcei 'but < inlwWra' abstracts irbnv it aorno one' attribute . **& fastening upon th < ig 4 idres'iiTl tlia ' refetj . It is thus , ' lwuw ' , « n « » ty W ^ l ^ M ^ SW ^ iM tM ^ thQ particular sciences , ho fesolvca Sem no the vuZlf ^ Vi ^ F V *? " ^ *» Pr tlculftr virtu 0 B ' «^^ SS » h f , 1 virtue . S « M « i Th « t iWAeaia ttdlacusaidn on Valouri and it ia ' alib ^ n it SfM " ^ ? f »« toted by HhfttfpMBtelngteMwled ^ wiUoh alone can rote " * S ^^ 45 £ ^^
And thus he fastens on " the rationality of man as his essential attribute , " and makes the pursuit of truth ^ the " object-of Me . Now it is clear that reason is only one attribute of man ; . Jby no means the essential attribute , if the highest ; andi & at the object Df life is living r not the pursuit of truth , for truth itself is only employed as a means of life . Whoever ^ therefore , abstracting Reason , and ignoring alt the other complex attributes of man , builds his philosophy on that basiSi may be-very *' s ^ irituaV * utterly ** ideal /* and dear to all rhetoricians , but assuredly- will fail itt the primary . -requisite of a philosopher ; he might as well attempt to . teach zoology by fastening attention solely on the way in which animals secure their prey , neglecting att other considerations of structure and , function . But we said we would , not discuss Plato , and must keep our word . " ' * The second , and to us the most valuable portion of Mr- Butler ' s volume is devoted to an analysis of Aristotle ' s treatise an the Vital . Principle . * Mr
Butlerhas , in common with the majority of moderns , failed to recognise the peculiar significance of the title employed by Aristotle ,. because like . them . he has overlooked the fundamental fact that the separationpf Soul from . Life is Christian and not Greek . Aristotle is accused by Mr . Butler of " materialisrn . " The accusation is common ; but it would have astonished a Crreek . Materialism and Immaterialism are words which" to Aristotle would' have called up no ideas . ¦ Life and Soul were inextricably ; interwoven , in his . sys- ^ tern ,. not . as two things temporarily conjoined , but jas ., two -aspects tof one * thing . Life was , always and everywhere psychial , though- only tspecially intelligent . This was the doctrine 6 f Aristotle ; and now after so many centuries it is reproduced by Mr . Herbert Spencer ; . 'iii ' his' ^^« 2 » jp ^/^ : i ^<> . chology with a fulness of detail , and a rigour of demonstration demanide'd'by the present state of science . . . . ¦¦ ¦ . , ¦• . .- .,,- ,. - ... {» . .,,. ; > r '
Of all this Mr . Butler has not a suspicion . ; but he analyses , as far as he understands it , with great clearness and care , the-whole treatise ! , and readers will be very grateful to him for the <; are thus bestowed ; u 3 - > '•¦ -: »^ s ' > i
H ¦ Agbie 26,18s6q Tmie L E ± Ih^B^ 4m
¦ AgBiE 26 , 18 S 6 Q TMIE L E ± IH ^ B ^ 4 M
Story Of A Blue-Bottle. La Folle Du Logi...
STORY OF A BLUE-BOTTLE . La Folle du Logis . Par Leon Gozlan . Xqndon : p . Nutfc HA . vE _ you ever seen a huge blue-bottle buzzing in all . the contentment that sunshine and the vicinity- of & good larder can : give , suddenly . entangled in the w ^ b of an ill-conditioned spiderv-w ^ pounce on hisvictirnV andhburish'his VertetnoUSbody bn ^ iteinndceht jirices >? ft'is-ahehtoniblogical tragi ^ cbnifedy''wMiehfchias ^ mahy ^^ a ^ dies' -m ^ Mnyaii sociel ^^ arbaies ^ ich : Balzac ' 6 i ^ lI ^ isfe , ^ estl 6 Vga ^ d ^^ H ) e ^^^ ne ^ his ^ Incbnipatable . \ CurgW'Tmtis . M ; L ^ on ^ b & ah , a ^ p laWntly ^' u ' niier th ^
inspiratMjn x > K Balzac , gives us , in thevptutaie df tales ^ wmcli lig ' rather i ^ sii ^ yfia ]!^^ dr ^ nia , run 4 erj ^ jtitfe ^ j ^^ J ^^ best of these stories , which will , perhaps , interesti tfteaa ^ jtrers w t ^ e' ^^ i ^^ de laTKiedeJProyitice . \ ¦ .-. .. >/¦ ; ¦ ¦ - \^ j- , ¦ . ¦ :. ., / . . - ¦ ¦ / ¦¦ ¦ ' ' . ¦' '; - ¦' : ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦'¦ : ¦ ¦ , \ " :, ' . l M . Maes , a rieh Belgian merchant , bad become possessor , | n : Mayj . I ft ^ 7 i of an enviable property on the banks of the Seine j ijtotJtery-ts af ^ irov ^? Yjifeji . neuve ^ comprising , beside * a ; chaTnaing villa ! and staMes / agittrde » f' ' a ! cbn * servatbry , ^ p leiisure-igrounds , with ' ^ statues' and'labyrinths ^ n ^ sh « i % ^ everything a Tetired iherchant could desire £ is ; his elysium -after ^ f ^ VeriMng'the world frbni Antwerp to ' Java . To crbwrt his ha ^ p ihessV' ^ e Had e ^ Viellerit health and was ^ bachelor , ^ oOf ag ainst all the assault ^ of ; po ' dileir ^ i * - Wiffia cptistitution which had resipte ^ yellow ' . fever , ¦¦ , ¦ ' * $ & % seM ^ Uty ' whieh Ka ;? t resisted . matrimony for ^ tw < iraijid-forty y ^ ars ^ , ^ ' ¦ he ^ was ; . sure ^ a ' t '; ' ^^ ^ f ^ f heart , and his stomach . > Xqu cati conceivei jthe . ; , sensations " ^ iili ';' , ' wj ^ ic ] SL M . Maes took liis first walk ' in his garden , with lt \ a hands undei * , his coattails , in all the glories of : pix > prietorship 1 The suii was , shinins' with the
splendour of : commencing June' on garden , corn-fieW , ? and . meadovv 7 and , above all , on the river— - ^ that river ' whichv proraised' endless fishing , the ruling passion of _ M . Maes ; The' close neigHboarhobd of the river hadl chiefly decided him to purchase Folie Margot' at gather a bouncing price , and he had provided himself with all the apparatus dear to the piscatorial imagination : How happy M . ' Maes was going to bel- He , almost envted himself as he thought of the thrill with which he should perceive , his < line vibrating to the bite of a twenty-pound carp . If e ^ t to fishing , like a true ) Bel g ian , lie loved flowers , and these "v ^ as a whole iarmy . of them at his feet . He stooped to gather a tulipjahd onrisiri ^ saw , abbufc two paceb n * om ^ him \ fl . imn ' Ti ' Aft Hlinrf . ' on / I fuf . no Kimaolf wt > h 'Kf ^ -Io ( wow' birna btifib-. ivvtn Ilia hkinX ' 1 mm uM Viaaa il WAM viiV b 4 t
1 ' ~ 'r-- ~ —r- -w _ _ a-- * -v ^ h ^ w ^* f ** »* * » ^ - * I J wM f *»*• * - ^ *| IV m * m * J & AN / UVV & A and a costume between a miller ' s and' a mason ' s . The stiran ^ ei * bo ' wed'Ws low as the parabolic section of his body would permit , and smiled' ' eliJbclrately . " You are the gardener , doubtless ?' , * u ^ o ,, MprisieuyMa es , I'kni r ^ icolas Mprrai n , your , poor neighbour , the owner of that slip or * ground , no bigger than a pocket-hankerchief , that Jies' between your p . ^ oper (; y and th ^ river . I come to bid you welcome , Monsieur ! Maes . " . ** An ^ y ^ l ^^ tjrop does your ground yield ybu ^ 'Monsieur Merrain ?' , ? " Pebbles in sunvmer , itnud . in winterBut have
. I an afiectionfor it ? my poor wife used , to come and wash hesr linett ' there in her life-timei" " Very good . You keep ^ ou ? bit of ground in memory of your wife . I esteem you for it , Monsieur Merrain . W © shall-bo good neighbours , I see . " " You do me an honour in thinking so , Moneieur , and if in anything you need my pqor eeryipesrT— -r- " . *' "V V-hat ?? 8 your , trade ,, my good friend P" , " . i ; do a little of all sprjts ^ 1 buy standing orops ; I buy old buildings when they are riot' too ' dear , and sell Mo material by foV As M . Maes , in hasto to make tfce'toVir of' His grounds , bade his new ' iieighbbur gbod day : ' tliat worthy' ' mUrmu ' red tb 'himself , '"'^
shall make a good job of it ; This -man mttst be fond of fishing ;? ' -r- .. ; ? ' f -n f-Ybu see at least one spider on the watch for our rhuman bluebottle . , Bufc lUe . happy in not knbwing his coming unbappiness , smoked his cigar with a new f eliah as h e sauntered-in his garden the next irtonring 1 , ' 11 s All at once ha WerceWes that las Ubmaiti , Avhich has two gates towards the ViWenieave rbad , n as -rib outlet kt all towards the Seine , 'flow ; tlim ; < 4 fd thia' 'fbrttitet oyftikiti of Foll < Margot get down tb the rJver . P " PoohT "T ? hiaf lrei » Bdft tWi 9 iimpfe , They could not have cared ab 9 ut fishing . M . Macs ' ldst ' n'b % tHH 5 h sencfitf | for a , rnivsoTi , but no sooner was a , breach macfo'Tn , the' N ^ fli ' raarilt disclo ^ ftl Kj figure of that obliging neighbour Kicolas Merraw , who fyfylj \ w . 'iprmqii
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 26, 1856, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26041856/page/17/
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