Bather's Sermons, vol. ii. 8vo. 12s. bds. Marsh's (Rev. E. J.) Sermons, 8vo. 9s. bds. Heber's Sermons preached in India, 8vo. 9s. 6d. bds. Edmonson's Short Sermons, vol. ii. 8vo. 8s. bds. Marriott's (Hervey) Fourth Course of Sermons, 8vo. 10s. 6d. bds. Simon's Hope of Israel, 8vo. 10s. bds. Mackray's Essay on the Reformation, 8vo. 8s. bds. The Protestant's Companion, 12mo. 5s. bds. Rambach's Meditations, 3d edition, 8vo. 10s. 6d. bds. Kirby's Sermons on the Temptation of Christ, 8vo. 7s. 6d. bds. Scard's Sermons vol. ii. 12mo. 5s. bds. Browne's Repentance, &c. post 8vo. 5s. bds. ART. I. Natural History of Enthusiasm II. 1. General View of Lunatic Asylums, &c. By Sir An- drew Halliday, M.D., &c. &c. &c. 2. Report on Pauper Lunatics in Middlesex, and Lunatic III. The Life and Services of Captain Philip Beaver, late of his Majesty's Ship Nisus. By Captain W. H. Smyth, R.N., K.S.F., F.R.S., F.S.A., &c. &c. IV. 1. Tableaux de la Nature, ou Considérations sur les Déserts, sur la Physiognomie des Végétaux, sur les Cataractes de l'Orénoque, sur la Structure et l'Action des Volcanos dans les différentes regions de la terre. Par le Baron 2. Les Articlés Mer, et Montagne. Par le Colonel Bory ART. VIII. 1. The Legendary Cabinet, or a Collection of British Na- X. Anne of Geierstein; or the Maiden of the Mist. By the XI. An Essay on the Connection between the Action of the XII. A French Grammar. By P. F. Merlet, teacher of the PAGE 260 274 288 302 303 XIII. The Original Picture of London, enlarged and improved, Hall" XV. Visits to the Religious World 304 304 307 XVI. Deutsches Lesebuch; or Lessons in German Literature. By XVII. Lectures on Shakspeare, &c. By Robert James Ball, B.A. 308 Literary and Miscellaneous Intelligence Monthly List of Recent Publications 312 315 THE MONTHLY REVIEW. JUNE, 1829. ART. I.-Natural History of Enthusiasm. London: Holdsworth and Ball. 8vo. 1829. It gives us considerable pleasure to meet with a sensible discussion on so important a topic as the nature and origin of enthusiasm. There are certain qualities in man, and certain principles in the constitution of the world, which it is always important to have in sight, and by tracing which to their first springs, we add greater security to our reasonings on all other moral subjects Of these, enthusiasm is one, and he who correctly describes its different characteristics, and teaches us how to distinguish it from principles which are similar in their influence but different in their origin, deserves well of the public, and makes a valuable addition to its stock of practical wisdom. Nothing is more difficult than rightly to estimate the value or the evil of qualities which belong only to particular characters, and are too eccentric to become the subject of any fixed rule of moral science. Unless a very nice analyzation be pursued, what is extraordinary will be confounded with what is licentious-what passes beyond the commonly recognised bounds of science with a violating of truth-the unreceived discovery with the old and disproved dogma, and originality of thought and intenseness of feeling, with the vague, feverish dreaming of disease. The mistake is equally easy whether we incline to praise or censure, there being full as many instances of wrong being mistaken for right, as of right losing its just honour. Thus to the generality of persons no difference is apparent between principles of action, however different, if they produce a similar external result, and men of the most opposite characters are classed together whenever any accidental impulse leads them into like situations. No word, therefore, has a less definite meaning than enthusiasm. It is made use of to describe as well the permanent passions of the heart, as the most sudden movements of the mind. It is employed to express admiration of what is generous, and contempt for what is extravagant, and as frequently conveys an idea of the weakest superstition as of the most religious devotion to all the duties which become the Christian or the patriot. There are two ways, consequently, in which we may regard enthusiasm, and by considering it distinctly under these separate heads, be better able to decide on its good or bad qualities. The word, as we have seen, is frequently made by common consent to signify nothing more than an extraordinary ardour in the pursuit of some particular object or purpose. In this sense enthusiasm is the movement of a mind too excited for the usual circumstances of life, but its best guide and most powerful supporter in situations which require great energy. There is no instance, it is probable, of any man's becoming distinguished in either one pursuit or the other, without having been long under the influence of this mysterious power. It is the weight, the pressure of which puts the pendulum of our being in motion, or the spirit even, under the influence of which all our faculties, passions and desires, concentre themselves and work with greater strength. The characters of men are as various as their fortunes, but there are certain unchangeable principles which belong to the whole race, and which fix the species within its proper boundaries. The world is constantly composed in the same manner of intermixed virtues and follies. Experience, by degrees, gives birth to philosophy. To the latter succeeds, after a short time, the ambition and pride of learning, and from these arise all the varieties of spiritual mechanism and false opinion. The condition of men is thus fixed within very narrow limits, and few of them escape the destiny of which their indolence and their recklessness are the parents. But it sometimes happens that an unusual chain of events puts into confusion the common routine of life. In cases of this kind, men of enterprising minds rise far above the level of their former rank, and they whose character is naturally bold and ardent, look immediately for the near accomplishment of their loftiest expectations. The iron chain of destiny seems ready to snap; man is made a new creature--free, independent of circumstance, a fit king unto himself, and suddenly provided with a Sovereign panacea for all the evils which belong to his nature. If this fit of enthusiasm arise only in minds which have less force than ardour, it will cease with the temporary excitement under which it became manifest; but if it be the filling up of the measure of a strong heart with a new impulse, the quickening of natural energy into supernatural activity, it will diffuse and multiply itself. One enthusiast will have a thousand enthusiastic followers. The recurrence of events into their old channel will not obliterate the traces of the agitation, and men will continue to marvel at the |