the same ground as himself. Hence it abounds with statistical and historical information to an unusual extent, a hint of which is given in the title. We do not, however, prefer the portion of the volume devoted to these somewhat dry statements, but would rather listen to the genial "bachelor," as he gayly tells the story of his own adventures, or describes the objects and places with which he has become acquainted from personal observation. His style is sometimes a little too rattling, but we generally find him an intelligent and entertaining companion.

POLITICS.

This treatise is intended by the author, in some sense, to form a counterpart to his "History of the United States." Written in the clear, calm, unimpassioned style, which is such a marked feature of that work, it unfolds an elaborate system Theory of Politics. By in regard to the foundation of governments, RICHARD HILDRETH. and the causes and progress of political Harper & Brothers. revolutions. Mr. Hildreth first considers the elements of political power, and the political equilibrium. called government. The primary force which tends to produce the political equilibrium called government, he regards as the pleasure of superiority. It is this motive which stimulates the passion of ambition, and supplies such a host of candidates for every dignity, from the pettiest village magistracy up to the stations of prime minister or king. This sentiment alone, however, does not account for the institution of government; since the same force which prompts men to seek the position of governors, leads them to avoid the condition of subjects. This is the chief cause of all political revolutions. Men will not rest in settled obedience to any government, until the pain of inferiority is balanced by the operation of other sentiments. These are found in Fear, Admiration, and the Idea of the Moral Duty of Obedience. The natural equality of man, according to Mr. H., has no foundation in fact; and it is on the intrinsic sources of inequality in human nature, such as the differences of muscular strength, skill, sagacity, force of will and the like, that the elements of political power have their origin. The discussion and elucidation of these elements form an important portion of the volume. The author next considers the various forms of government in their origin, development and extension; explaining the passage from the hunter to the shepherd state, the commencement of the accumulation of wealth, the introduction of chattel slavery, and of organized government. The processes by which one form of government is exchanged for another are examined at length,

and illustrated by reference to a great variety of historical facts. The conclusion of the work treats of the influence of government on the progress of civilization, and on human happiness in general.

Although Mr. Hildreth has no faith in the dogma of human perfectibility, he adheres to the idea of a progressive movement in the affairs of men. The history of Christendom for the last eight centuries, as he thinks, may be divided into four periods of two centuries each, during which the clergy, the nobles, the kings and the burghers successively enjoyed a certain headship and predominancy. Throughout these ages we have caught only occasional glimpses of the mass, the great body of the people, who perform the work of the world, but who have seldom enjoyed the possession of political rights. In the new era, which commences with the middle of the current century, it would seem that the working classes are to have their day. Among the signs that the Age of the People is about to dawn, Mr. Hildreth enumerates the efforts for the suppression of the African slave-trade, the abolition of chattel slavery in many of the ultramarine offshoots of Europe, the subdivision of lands, as in France, among the actual cultivators, the system of savings' banks, and the constant advance and development of manufacturing industry. The elevation of the masses is to be effected by imparting to them a greater portion than they have ever yet possessed of the primary elements of power, sagacity, force of will, and knowledge, to be sustained by the secondary elements of wealth and combination. A necessary condition of this is the increased productiveness of human labor, and the consequent approach to equality in the distribution of wealth. "The socialist question of the distribution of wealth, once raised, is not to be blinked out of sight. The claims set up by the socialists, based as they are upon philosophic theories of long standing, having, at least some of them, many ardent supporters even in the ranks of those who denounce the socialists the loudest, cannot be settled by declamations and denunciations, and mutual recriminations, any more than by bayonets and artillery. It is a question for philosophers; and until some solution of it can be reached which both sides shall admit to be conclusive, what the party of progress needs is not action-for which it is at present disqualified by internal dissensions-but deliberation and discussion. The engineers must first bridge this gulf of separation before all the drumming and fifing and shouting in the world can again unite the divided column, and put it into effectual motion."

It will be seen from our slight abstract, that Mr. Hildreth's

volume contains much acute and original thought. It is, however, more valuable for its suggestions than for its positive teachings. It should have been called "Hints towards a Theory," rather than a "Theory of Politics." The intelligent reader will find in it abundant materials for the formation of opinion, although he may agree with few of its leading positions. In point of diction, Mr. Hildreth is true to himself. His language is pellucid and cold as an icicle, except when he is aroused by some moral wrong or some intellectual absurdity, and in that case it often suddenly mounts to fever-heat.

Discussions on Philos

PHILOSOPHY.

Two editions of Sir William Hamilton's Writings, issued almost simultaneously, show that the taste for metaphysical speculation has not died out among our countrymen. This volume is a reprint of the English edition, issued under the supervision of the author himself, and ophy and Literature. containing his miscellaneous and critical By Sir WILLIAM HAM- productions, as well as those devoted to ILTON. With an In- abstract philosophy. A considerable portion of it consists of articles on education and university reform, which claim the attention of every friend of mental progress, for the close and vigorous grasp with which they discuss a subject of universal moment. In our opinion, these discussions are of immeasurably greater value than the metaphysical papers of the author, on the merits of which we shall presently express ourselves.

troductory Essay, by ROBERT TURNBULL, D. D. Harper & Broth

ers.

of an

The edition is introduced by an essay from the pen accomplished scholar, the Rev. Dr. Turnbull, presenting a rapid survey of the progress of speculative thought from the earliest to the present time. He divides the history of philosophy into four periods, the Oriental, the Greek, the Medieval, the Modern. Such a comprehensive outline must of course be filled up in a superficial manner, with the limited space at the command of the writer, but we have detected no marks of haste or carelessness in the composition. Dr. Turnbull is evidently familiar with the chief masters of speculation, both in ancient and modern times. He has a turn for metaphysical study, though like Sir William Hamilton his taste inclines to the history of opinions rather than to the establishment of original theories. His criticisms are generally just, though not always entirely candid. For instance, his sneer at the opponents of Locke "as the father of modern sensualism," and his faint commendation of Professor Hickock, with whom, in point of profoundness and philosophical comprehension, he

himself is not to be compared, display neither good taste nor keen insight.

The essay, which on the whole does credit to the writer's knowledge and ability, concludes with a brief summary of the fundamental views of Sir William Hamilton and the amount of his contributions to mental science. These, it must be admitted, are entirely of a negative character. His problem is rather to limit the domain of speculation than to enlarge the boundaries of knowledge. According to him, the science of the absolute is impossible. We can neither know mind nor matter, in its interior essence, nor the essential totality of the universe, including infinite space or infinite duration, and also Infinite Spirit, which is God in his unlimited and eternal essence. Thus philosophy as well as religion is compelled to acknowledge the presence every where of inscrutable mystery in nature, in man, and in God. But this is essentially the ground of the skeptical philosophy, and there is nothing in the writings of Sir William Hamilton to redeem speculation from that dangerous position. This, in fact, is acknowledged by his apologist, Dr. Turnbull, who says that Sir William's solution of the idea of cause, which he resolves into the incompetence of the human mind, is inadequate. But this is the very point on which the question hinges between the skeptic and the believer. Dr. Turnbull himself suggests that the position taken by Sir William for the defense and elucidation of the idea of cause, may be "fairly and logically run into Pantheism," and argues with considerable vigor to that effect. Our readers, however, who are interested in these knotty questions must consult the volume itself, which contains the most complete and connected view of Sir William Hamilton's system that has yet been presented to the public. It is brought out in a style of great elegance, and is worthy of a place in the library of every scholar.

WILLIAM HAMIL

This volume embraces the principal part of Sir William Hamilton's metaphysical writings. No one can deny to that eminent man the merit of singular acumen, a profound knowledge of the history of opinions in a limited department of thought, and an extent of philosophical Philosophy of Sir erudition which bristles over his pages so ΤΟΝ. For the use frightfully as almost to give the headache of Schools and Col- by the very sight of them. But it is wholly leges. Edited by O. W. WIGHT, D. preposterous to bring forward his elaborate Appleton & Co. productions as a text-book for educational institutions. The most intense curiosity as to the result of philosophical speculation, accompanied with

the habit of the most resolute and persistent thought, will hardly enable the reader to make progress through his crabbed and repulsive pages. He is destitute altogether of the consecutive and lucid method so necessary in a manual of academic instruction. His manner is almost as desultory as that of De Quincey. As a model of philosophical style, we should' as soon think of placing the abstractions of Hegel or Rosenkranz in the hands of the youthful student, as these fragmentary criticisms. Nor does Sir William Hamilton arrive at any actual fruit, as the effect of his learned researches. He actually throws no new light on philosophy. He does nothing to elucidate or justify the cardinal ideas of the universal reason. Hence, we cannot but protest against the absurdity of issuing his works as a text-book for colleges. They are undoubtedly valuable as contributions to the history of philosophy; they will command attention from thinking men on account of their acute analysis and crushing criticisms; but it takes a full-grown intellect to comprehend them; and removed from the shelves of the library, as useful references in course of philosophical study, they become practically worthless.

a

FICTION.

The attempt to write a classical novel savors so much of literary presumption, as to challenge the severest scrutiny of the critic. Such a union of rare qualifications is demanded for success in this line, that at first blush we are apt to pronounce the production a failure. In addiThe Roman Traitor; or tion to the usual gifts of a lively fancy and the Days of Cicero, Cato, and Catiline. creative imagination, there is needed such a By HENRY WILLIAM profound and familiar knowledge of antiHERBERT. Two vols quity, such a true insight into modes of in one. -Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson. life entirely the reverse of our own, such a delicate perception of the operations of pas sion and feeling, under circumstances of which we have had no experience, and such a mastery of vivid and versatile expression, that many persons regard the composition of a good historical romance as an impossible task. Mr. Herbert enters upon the duty he has assigned to himself with a just sense of its difficulty and importance. At the same time, he has faith in the subject, and trust in his own practised abilities. In his opinion, there is a vast field, rich with a harvest of material almost virgin, for the use of the romancer, in the history of classic ages. But, in working this field, the writer must not permit the dust of antiquity to overlay the pulsations of humanity. He should remember that "under all changes of