صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

you

seem

A double fear, an envie, and a hate,
His iealous heart for euer cruciate;
'Sith the suspected vertue of this tree
Shall soon disperse the cloud of idiocy,
Which dims your eyes; and, further, make
(Excelling vs) even equall Gods to him...
O world's rare glory! reach thy happy hand,
Reach, reach, I say; why dost thou stop or stan.l?
Begin thy bliss, and do not fear the threat
Of an vncertain God-head, onely great
Through self-aw'd zeal: put on the glistering pall
Of immortality: do not forestall

(As envious stepdame) thy posteritie
The soverain honour of Divinitie,'

1

SYLVESTER'S Du Bartas, edit. 1621. pp. 192, 193,

"As Milton has been supposed to have been much obliged to other poets in describing the unsubdued spirit of Satan, especially where he

says,

Better to reign in hell, than serve in 'heaven;'

or

I am tempted to make an extract two from Stafford's Niobe, a prose-work already mentioned, in which Satan speaks the following words; not dissimilar to passages in Fletcher and Crashaw, which have been cited, on the same subject.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

arch-angeli, angeli, and all the 'celestiall hierarchyes, (with a shout of applause,) sung my departure out of heauen: my alleluia was ' turned into an ehu; and too soone found, that I was corruptibilis ab alio, though not in alio; and that. he, that gaue me my being, could againe take it from mee. Now, for as much as I was once an angell of light, it was the will of Wisedome to confine me to darknes, and to create me prince thereof, that so I, WHO COULD NOT OBEY IN HEAUEN, MIGHT COMMAUND IN 'HELL. And, belieue mee, sir, I ‹ had rather controule within my dark diocese, than to reinhabite cœlum empyrium, and there liue in subjection, vnder check." Edit. 1611, pp. 16-18, part the second. Staf ford calls Satan the "grim-visag'd 'goblin," ibid. p. 85. And, in the 'first part of the book, he de'scribes the devil as having "com• mitted incest with his daughter, the

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

They say, forsooth, that pride was the cause of my fall; and that I dwell where there is nothing but weeping, howling, and gnashing of teeth; of which that falsehood was the authour, I will make you plainlie perceite. True it is, sir, that I (storming at the name of supremacie) sought to depose my Creatour; which the watchful, all-seeing eye of Prouidence find-World," p. 3. He also attributes ing, degraded me of my angelicall dignitie, dispossessed me of all pleasures; and the seraphin, and I cherubin, throni, dominationes, 'virtutes, potestates, principatus,

[ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

trospect of the progress of this mighty genius in the construction of his work; a view of the fabric. gradually rising, perhaps, from small beginnings, till its foundation rests in the centre, and its turrets sparkle in the skies; to trace back the structure, through all its varieties, to the simplicity of its first plan; to find what was 'first projected, whence the scheme was taken, how it was improved,

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

"I have thus brought together naturally given occasion, none is opinions delivered at different pe- more obscure in itself, or more worriods, respecting the origin of Para-thy of rational curiosity, than a redise Lost; and have humbly endeavoured to trace, in part, the reading of the great poet, subservient to his plan. More successful discoveries will probably arise from the pursuits of those, who are devoted to patient and liberal investigation. Videlicet hoc illud est præcipuè studiorum genus, quod vigiliis augescat; ut cui subinde ceu fluminibus ex decursu, sic accedit ex lectione minutatìm quo fiat uberius. To such persons may be recommended the masterly observations of him, who was Once so far imposed upon as to believe Lauder an honest man, and Milton a plagiary; but who expressed, when + Douglas and Truth appeared,' the strongest indignation against the envious impostor: for they are observations resulting from a wish not to depreciate, but zealously to praise, the Paradise Lost. Among the inquiries, to which this ardour of criticism has

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

by what assistance it was exe'cuted, and from what stores the ' materials were collected; whe'ther its founder dug them from the quarries of Nature, or demolished other buildings to embellish his own.' I may venture to add that, in such inquiries, patience will be invigorated rather than dispirited; and every new discovery will teach us more and more to admire the genius, the erudition, and the me mory of the inimitable Milton"

METHOD of TEACHING LOGIC and RELIGION to the DEAF and

DUMB.

[From the ABBE L'EPEE'S Manner of educating the DEAF and DUMB.]

"How Spiritual Operations, which are the Object of Logic, may be explained to the Deaf and Dumb.

"

I T will easily be admitted that there is no danger of the deaf and dumb confounding any of the

"Politian. Miscellaneorum Præf."

parts of speech. It is sufficient for me to give, by signs, to every word its proper signification, and they assign it of themselves its proper place; (which, by the way, is what very many, whose education has

"The Progress of Envy, an excellent poem, occasioned by Lauder's attack on the character of Milton. See Lloyd's Poems, 1762, p. 221."

So bishop Douglas told the affectionate biographer of Dr. Johnson. Sce Bos

well's Life of Johnson, vol. i. p. 197, edit. 1799."

§ "See Boswell's Life of Johnson, vol. i. p. 199,"

been

[ocr errors]

been deficient, cannot do. So that nothing is beyond the reach of their capacity which we propose to them with clearness and method.

"To explain to them the spiritual operations which are the chief subjects of logic, I take the following measures.

"I look attentively at the various rows of my library, and at the busts and the globes on the top; and I engage my pupil to fix his eyes upon them also. Afterwards I shut my eyes, and no longer beholding any of these objects externally, I trace out however the height and the width of them, their different shapes and their positions. I remark, and press upon the observation of my pupil, that it is no longer the eyes of my body which perceive them, but that I behold them in another way, as if there were two apertures in the middle of my forehead, through which these objects were still pictured in my head, my eyes being shut. This I call, seeing with the eyes of the mind.' No deaf and dumb persons will fail to put this to the proof in themselves, upon the spot: and they will all take pleasure in multiplying and diversifying exemplifications.

"I am at Paris, in my own house, giving lessons; but I transport myself in imagination to Versailles, (the place of my nativity,) where I once took three of my eldest female pupils to spend a week. They transport themselves thither in fancy as readily as I do; they never call to mind the stay they made there without pleasing sensations.

"In idea, I mount the castle, and I trace out, as well as I can, the grand stair-case, and the outer. rooms: the females immediately. proceed with the picture, particularly that of the gallery, which

overpowered them with admiration to such a degree, that they all three changed colour when they entered it.

"We then, in idea, range the park. They walk from grove to grove, and in their description do not leave out the different waterpieces, the sight of which surprised them strangely.

"I observe to them, it is not the eyes of their body which now see these various objects; that their body has not changed places; that it is fronting the table upon which we write; but that these objects are presented by the eyes of the mind as if still actually visible: and I then say, that the internal painting which is the source of their present entertainment is what we call 'an idea, or the representation of an object in the mind."

"You have just now in your mind, I say to them, the idea of the castle of Versailles, the idea of its apartments, of its groves, &c. all these things are material and sensible; you have seen them with your eyes; but that which now represents them to you internally we call your imagination.

"You have seen that it took two hours and a half to transport you from Paris to Versailles, and several entire days to bring you from Lyons to Paris. Your body cannot travel faster. But as speedily as you please your mind is rambling in the gardens of Versailles, or walking on the banks of the Rhone, while this same body is seated on a chair, or traversing the streets of Paris. This we term thinking: you think of the beauty of Versailles: you think of the river which runs through Lyons.

"You say within yourselves, the park of Versailles is beautiful; this is what we call judgment. It cen

tains two ideas; you have the idea of the park, and the idea of beauty; you unite them to each other by an internal yes; this is what we call an affirmative judgment. On the contrary, you say within yourselves, that the tower at St. Martin's gate is not handsome: here again are two ideas, the idea of the tower and the idea of handsomeness: but you seperate them by an internal no: this is what we call a negative udgment; and when you write down what you have thought within yourselves, it forms what we call an affirmative proposition, or a negative proposition.

"I ask, if you are willing to return to Versailles, where you appeated to be very much delighted, and reside there constantly. You answer me, that you should like extremely to do so, provided I go and reside there too. I ask you, why you put in this condition; and you answer, that it is because there is nobody at Versailles who instructs the deaf and dumb: now this is what we call reasoning. It contains several ideas which you compare one with another, in this manner: Versailles is a beautiful place; I am charmed with Versailles; I should like to live there: , but I should find no instruction at Versailles for the deaf and dumb; I am fonder of instruction than of the beauty of Versailles: therefore I do not wish to live there unless he who instructs us live there too.'

"Thought and love, we tell our pupils, are not the same thing. You often think of things which you do not love; which, on the contrary, you hate. You think of idleness, of disobedience, of gluttony, when you observe them in some young person; and yet you love none of them. That which thinks within us is called our mind, that which

loves is called our heart; and the union of the two is called our soul.

"The idea of a soul which thinks and reasons, presents itself to our mind without form and withour colour; we call this idea a simple conception.

"Thus you have a body and a soul: a body which eats, drinks, sleeps, moves, and rests; a soul which thinks, judges, and reasons. Your soul cannot eat, nor drink, &c. Your body cannot think, nor judge, nor reason.

These operations, as our readers perceive, are in truth perfectly simple; and the deaf and dumb seize them with equal facility and avidity."

"How Deaf and Dumb Persons are instructed in the first Truths of Religion.

"When the difference of soul and body is once clearly ascertained, and the deaf and dumb are become sensible of the superiority and nobleness which thereby distinguisha them from brutes, that can neither reason nor think, their souls stand eager to follow wherever we lead the way: they take their flight up to heaven, descend again to earth, and plunge into the abyss, with as much promptitude as our own.

[ocr errors]

They have seen with their own eyes that a house does not build itself, nor a watch construct itself; they have admired this little machine, and have observed, without the least suggestion from others, that the inventor of it must have had a great deal of ingenuity.

"But when we show them on an artificial sphere, the periodical motions of the earth and the planets round the sun, and afterwards let them see the execution of these in miniature, in Passemont's scientific machinery, their souls are then ex

panded

panded and elevated with sentiments of delight and admiration, to which all our expressions are inadequate their surprise soon borders upon ecstasy when, ascending to the fixed stars, we state their distance from the earth, and remoteness from each other.

[ocr errors]

They now begin to comprehend that a machine so prodigiously immense, containing so many exquisite beauties vying for superiority, can be the effect of infinite power alone. They see and know the use of artisans' tools in the fabrication of their works: it is unnecessary to make any observations to them concerning the impossibility of such tools being employed in the fabrication of the universe,

"If we write down, that he who made all these things has no body, nor figure, nor colour so as to come under our senses; scarcely do they deign to cast their eyes over the proposition, because their own good sense alone tells them that it is impossible to conceive eyes, ears, hands, and feet for him.' This is what we call being a pure spirit, whose operations are not impeded or retarded as ours are by the heaviness of our bodies.

"It is now time to announce that he whose works transport them with astonishment is the God before whom we prostrate ourselves, a Spirit eternal, independent, immoveable, infinite, present every where, beholding all things, who can do all things, who has created all things, who governs all things. There is no necessity for hasty strides here; if our steps are slow, our patience is amply compensated by a view of the gradations of respect towards God displayed in the hearts of our pupils, which, in general, are in exact proportion to the progression of their knowledge of

him. Let us give a specimen of our mode of proceeding in the explication of the divine attributes.

"You have not been in this world always, we say to our pupils; you did not exist thirty years ago; you came into the world like other infants, whose birth you hear of daily; your father was before you; your grandfather was his elder; your great grandfather and greatgreat grandfather were elder still; each of them had a beginning in his turn it was God who formed them in the breast of their mothers; it was then only that they began to exist: just so it has been with all the other men who have been born and have died since the beginning of the world. But he who forms all others, cannot have been formed by another elder than he: therefore he has had no beginning.

"This is not all. Your fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, and great-great grandfathers are all dead. You also will die when God so pleases. They have had an end in this world; you likewise will when you die. Their bodies have been put into the earth when their souls separated from them: yours will also be put into it when you are dead. But God will not die; he will never have an end; he has always been, and he always will be; this is what we mean by the word eternal.

"The independence and other perfections of God are explained in the same manner, à magis noto að minus notum. We do not aim at philosophical or theological demonstration; our design is merely to make ourselves understood, and by our simplicity we succeed.

Hitherto when the name of God was inscribed, the pupils lifted up their hand and pointed to the sky, a sign which they acknowledged

to

« السابقةمتابعة »