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: "'; -v-. -REVIEW , " - ' ¦¦ > ' •' • ^ Cf Still pleased to praise, yet not afraid to tri&nc/V-P pTO*
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Art . I . —Questions in Political Eco- , npmy % Politics * Afbrals , Metaphysics , Polite Isiteraturq , and other Branches of Knowledge ; for Discussion in Literary Societies , or for
Private Study , with Remarks under edch Qtt # sth > n , Original and Selected . By the Author of " Essays on the Formation and Publication of Opinions . " Crown Svo . pp . 414 . Hunter . 1823 .
iTHHIS unknown Author ' s former JL work , of which we gave So fall an account , ( XVII . 653 and 625 , ) prepared us for expecting under the above title a valuable addition to mo-^* m * -r ^~ r * ^ - ^ w <» v& ^^ »/ w v ^ f ^ - ^ w wk ^ r « ^^ ww ^ - « \ ia v * V «^ w ^^ ••* ^^
dern literature , and we hare not been disappointed . He now appears before ' us as a compiler , and though he does not surprise us by the extent of his reading , he wins our confidence by his familiarity with the best authors . His references are always pertinent , some
€€ Ques . xliv . Is it true , that as the Boundaries of Science are enla ¥ g 6 a the Empire of Imagination is diminished ? 4 i In the progress of society , a number of illusions , superst ! tTonS , and erroneous associations , which fortnerty produced a wonderful effect on the mind , and became powerful instruments id the hands of the orator and the poet , necessarily lose then influence . As things become better known , there is less room for the play of the imagination . Hence it is ^ a id the world has grown ieSS poetical . In the wards of Vokaire :
* c c On a banni les demons et les fee * , Sous Ja raison lea graces etonflfees ^ Livxem nos eoeurs a Finspidit £ ; Le raisonner tristement s ' accre'dite ; 0 p court h £ las ! apr&s la v ^ rit ^; Ah ! croyez moi > TeiTeaf a son m ^ rite . '
. t € f Philosophyyf says ^ a very able writer in the Edinburgh Review , which hap led to the exact investigation of causes , has robbed the world of mueh . of its sqblimky : and by preventing us froni believing much , and from wondering at any thing , has t ft ken away half our enthusiasm , and , more than half our admii-atioiu * vol . XXI . p . " It cannot be concealed , * says another . modern critic , tfidt the progress of of
knowledgp and refinement has * a tendency to cirenm ^ cribe the limits tfie imagination , and to dip the w 4 ng ^ of poetry . The province of the imagination is principally visionary , the unknown add undefined : the understanding restores things to their imtwai boundaries , and s $ rip& tfo&m ot their faniciful pretensiDnsw Hence the history of religious and poetical enthusiasm is much the same ; and both have received a
sensible shock from the progress of experimental philosophy . It fcrtbe undefined and uflconiuion , that gives tirtji ^ 4 scope tp the imagination : we ^ an only fancy what A ^ e do not know . As in looking into the luaiea of a tanglbd wood , we fitt them with what shapes we please , witii raveiiotls ^ a $ f ^ with daVernS vast , and drear caohanrments , so , in o i * r ignorance of t ^ ie t ^^ rf < tt ^ aijrt tw / We imike god ^ s or devils of the firM object we ae « ^ and set no boun ^ td he wil rtrl suggestions of our hopes and fears : ^
" * And visions as poetic e ^ cs ^ vqw , Hang on eacji les % ff fof&mhg tp erery bo \ 4 gh . * €€ See Hazlitt ' s Lectures on the English Poet * , p . 18 . "
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: "'; -V-. -Review , " - ' ¦¦ ≫ ' •' • ^ Cf Still Pleased To Praise, Yet Not Afraid To Tri&Nc/V-P Pto*
: "'; -v-. -REVIEW , " - ' ¦¦ > ' ' ^ Cf Still pleased to praise , yet not afraid to tri&nc / V-P pTO *
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of the extracts are beautiful , ami when he iatermiBgies hi « own remarks , ( we \ vish lie had done so mare frequently and more largely , ) he shews a sound judgment , a rich imagination and a
refined taste . . The title of the " -Questions" explains their object . To that object they are altogether answerable . They will b& highly serviceable to yotm ^ men who are accustomed to associate
for intellectual improvement , and they will not be uninteresting * to general readers who wish to review their studies , to trace the progress of mental philosophy , and to see the argument
on au the gteat questions that occupy the highest understandings exhibited in a condensed form * ' We cannot better explain or indeed recommend the ** Questions " than by giving one entire , as a specimen .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1823, page 720, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1791/page/40/
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