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however, all the advantages of able and experienced tutors, the unrestrained use of extensive libraries overflowing with the best productions in every species of learning, the best public lectures of every description, we would candidly hope that all these were not rejected when they were daily and hourly within his reach, and that he left the arms of Alma Mater something more than a "mere algebraist," a dotard in learning, or a driveller in science. If he left her, indeed, thus unprepared to enter upon the world, it was undoubtedly his own fault, and the blame of his failures no more attaches to the system of education established in his parent University, than to the innocent hatchet, sharpened and prepared to cut down the ancient tenant of the forest for the protection and use of man, is to be attributed the pain which it causes by involuntarily slipping and lacerating the foot or the arm of an imprudent operating mechanic. We forbear to notice his subsequent struggles and disappointments. They invariably emanated from the same cause, from his arrogance, his indecision, his imprudence, the total neglect of the many advantages, and the unskilful management of those instruments which his mode of education had kindly furnished him with, and which, had they been prudently used in after-life, would have undoubt edly conducted him to honour, to emolument, and to happiness. His gross ingratitude, however, and some other traits in his character, can admit of no possible excuse. He seems to have acted much in the same manner as another Cantab, also a member of the same body, and well known to the writer of this, who, when a mathematical examination was approaching, invariably devoted his attention to the perusal of Homer, of Horace, or Virgil. His success in those ordeals may be easily conjectured.

Exorbitancy of expense has also been frequently and confidently urged as an argument against University education. It has been arrogantly asked, for all the loss of time and expenditure of money necessarily incurred, what advantages does Alma Mater confer upon her sons? I would positively answer, that every opportunity is amply afforded in those seminaries, and that in a much superior degree to what GENT, MAG. June, 1827.

it is in any other existing institution, of acquiring a solid foundation either in literature or science. The expence, too, so far from being exorbitant, does, not exceed, and in many cases falls far short of, what would necessarily be required in educating any young man for the Pulpit, the Bar, the Senate, or any of the superior walks of life. The truth of this statement I can vouch for from actual experience. For the various opportunities of improvement in all the different arts and sciences, some of which have been already pointed out, daily supplied in those establishments, what would not have been sacrificed by an Aristotle and a Pliny?

Each of our English Universities, for a long time, laid exclusive claim to their separate and distinct provinces. Polite Literature and the Muses were anxiously wooed upon the banks of the Isis, whilst Mathematics and the Sciences were not less assiduously courted amid Granta's academic groves. In consequence, however, of some late improvements in each, we may now flatter ourselves that philology and science may go hand in hand, and be a mutual assistance to each other in their respective districts. This is certainly the surest method of securing respectability to each. Amid all those happy emendations, we have nevertheless heard that it is the hope and wish of one of the leading mathematicians of the present day, and a professor of natural philosophy, too, in one of our Universities, that he may live to see the day when abstract reasoning shall supply every use of figures and diagrams, both in pure and mixed mathematics. Our sincere wish would be the direct contrary of this; we would heartily pray "that there never may be wanting a supply of fit and able men to serve God both in Church and State," and on this account beg "a blessing upon all schools and seminaries of sound learning and religious education;" but we would devoutly pray, at the same time, that that period may never arrive when the pure geometric reasoning of a Newton, a Maclaurin, a Cotes, and an Atwood, may be superseded by a skilful marshalling of symbols, the doctrine of variations, as the calculus of the sines. From all those combined advantages, however, from this happy union of solid and refined learning, we would

boldly venture to assert that more real benents have not accrued to the State, and that too at a less expenditure of time and money, from any other literary establishment of any kind, than what have been derived from those pious, ancient, and learned institutions.

We cannot better close this paper, which has already been protracted much beyond its first-intended limits, than by an imperfect quotation of a paragraph, in its sentiments not altogether inapplicable to the present subject, and which, for euphonious cadence and propriety of diction, was perhaps never excelled by any writer in any age or in any language:

"Little are that man's feelings to be envied (says Dr. Johnson) whose emotions of gratitude and respect are not forcibly excited by the view and, we may add, even recollection of any place once consecrated by wisdom or valour; whose patriotism is not roused upon the plains of Marathon, or whose piety does not grow warm amid the

ruins of Iona."

Yours, &c.

Mr. URBAN,

OMICRON.

June 15.

To the author of the "Defence of

the English Universities," whose letter, dated from "Kellington," is inserted in your last Number, I would ask the following questions.

Are we not mainly indebted to Dr. Knox for the exposure and correction of those absurdities in the academical course at Oxford which formerly prevailed, and if so, are we not also indebted to him for the present comparatively improved education of that University?

We have quite enough of flatterers to pamper indolence and perpetuate error and prejudice; but he is the true friend who warns us of mischief, and points out to parents the dangers that await their sons. No one ever pretended to deny that great and eminent men have been educated at Oxford; but what has that to do with the general and still more momentous question of national and professional instruction? Talent, we all know, will vanquish every difficulty, and eventually obtain distinction; but the mass of students are not highly gifted; and to such imperfect education is fatal. Esop was a slave; Burns a ploughboy; Shakspeare a deer-stealer; but I do not consider either slavery, farm-drudgery,

or pilfering, a good school for developing genius or mental improvement. The general influence of such habits is, to brutify the man, to quench mind, and blunt the moral sense. Many have escaped the pollutions of Oxford, and triumphed over all the disadvantages of a perverted or defective education; but the fact is nevertheless true, that in discipline and professional education both Oxford and Cambridge are still defective.

This is all that Dr. Knox has said; and this the bitter experience of too many verifies. It is perfectly absurd to talk of ingratitude to Alma Mater. Why should the errors and vices of our Universities be exempt from blame and exposure? They are public property, are supported by the public, and are intended for public usefulness. The praise that is their due, will never be withheld; but to make that praise valuable, it must be separated from wholesale fulsome flattery. Had Dr. Knox and others been silent, Oxford would not be even what that Univer-sity now is. Fair and public inquiry is fatal only to abuses, and feared only by those whose interest it may be to support them. But truth must prevail.

Take a case to the point. Look at the Court of Chancery. One party says, that its needless delays and expensive process defeat the common ends of right and equity; while another as stoutly maintains, that it is free from error, and calls for no reformation,-that the hope and despair and ruin of individuals are unworthy of notice, when put in competition with the blessings it confers upon the country, and with the deference due to the feelings and character of its late venerable and spotless Judge. Such is the conflict of rival opinions, both in extremes. In the mean while, what says the public voice, seldom wrong in its decrees,-what says that voice, which, sooner or later, will be heard, and must be obeyed? While it allows every credit to the known skill and probity of the late Chancellor, and to the fiats of his legal wisdom, it speaks loudly and imperatively against the delays, mischiefs, and chicanery of the Court of Chancery. In the face of every opposition, it has forced a Parliamentary inquiry into its evils, and will yet prevail in rendering or restoring it to what it ought to be-a Court of Equity.

Apply this reasoning to the flatterers and calumniators of our Universities. It is not from aspiring candidates for

church patronage, or the holders of

snug sinecures of fellowships, that we must expect sound and honest opinions upon such a subject. Nor is it again from Westminster or Edinburgh Reviews, or other radical and infidel oracles, that we are to look for a fair and candid verdict. Where then are we to seek it? From a criterion that cannot err. Confining our attention to the defective education of our Universities for holy orders, I would answer: Look at the conventicles that are rising up in almost every parish of the kingdoni; look at the efforts now making in Parliament for a repeal of the Test Laws; look at the friends, whether real or pretended, but many and powerful, of the Roman Catholic claims; look at the diminished and diminishing influence of the Clergy of the Church of England; look at these signs of the times, and you will find an answer portentous, and not to be slighted. But how, it may be asked, are the defects of an University education for the priesthood made responsible for all or any of these infringements upon our Establishment? The reply is direct and painful. The Clergy of our Church are not educated as they ought to be. They have not that zeal; they are not those "burning and shining lights;" they have not those professional talents and habits, which are needed to meet and conquer these trials. Their ambition is too worldly, -their views too secular,-their time and attention at college are wasted upon studies not essential to their holy, and, if rightly considered, arduous and responsible calling;-while the grossest neglect of what is essential to qualify them for the pastoral office, is not merely known to prevail, but is justified and lauded by the " faithful sons of Alma Mater," as wise, sacred, and inviolable.

Our enemies are active, though we are supine; and however the pretended friends of the Church, in the ease and dignity of apathy, may resist inquiry, and oppose the correction of errors and defects, the time, I am convinced, is not far distant, when redress may be beyond our power. I am no alarmist; but the prophecy of events is rarely fallacious. Fear may exaggerate evils, -facts cannot. OXONIENSIS.

SOME SPECULATIONS ON LITERARY
PLEASURES.-No. I.

en

Warine, perhaps, only dis

cussion, and risking the frown of readers of intelligence in thus seeking to amplify a subject which has so often invoked the speculations of powerful pens. The theme, however, may yet admit of an additional illustration or two in its details, which are nearly as numerous as the contingencies and varieties of life.

It may possibly be suggested, that where all are agreed upon the point, further discussion is needless. This is not, however, exactly the case. There are numerous individuals in the world who think that tranquillity and contentment of mind, whether enjoyed under the cares of business or in the lap of indolent recreation, may be said to impart to those who are subjects of it as high a satisfaction, as lively a fruition of delight in their several spheres of occupation, as the philosopher at his desk, or as the poet luxuriating amid the scenes of nature. Do not the former, indeed, it is alleged, feel a sort of pain and uneasiness when debarred from their customary spheres of action or sources of enjoyment; and all this without the intervention of a single intellectual perception?

Those, for instance, whose minds are unremittingly devoted to commercial pursuits, and who, from their sole ambition pointing elsewhere, even if they had leisure, would want inclination for these pleasures,-those whose capacities, whether engendered by nature or acquired through education, (for education has been sufficiently proved to be no mean instrument in stimulating capacity,) never reach them,-have not unfrequently alleged that they enjoy, in passing through life, as high a sense of pleasure or happiness, as the man of intellectual speculation.

Well, but it may still be alleged that, after the able and frequent illustrations which this subject has received, we shall leave this point precisely where we found it. In spite of these and other possible objections, a few further illustrations may not be entirely without their interest to the readers of your long-established and valuable publication. "As I was indulging these reflections," says Dr. Goldsmith, "in order to eke out my

page, I formed the following reverie, too wild for allegory, and too regular, for a dream." The present writer will also fancy himself isolated in a situation where he recently enjoyed a train of reflections something similar to those which form the subject of the following sheets.

The sun had attained the highest verge of Cancer, and was already on its decline towards another equinox, when the breezy call" of a morning scattering incense from a thousand springs, ordained to lure mortals from repose, guided my footsteps to a sequestered dell of trees, where I was sometimes wont to repair in order to enjoy in silence those moments which the busy commerce of the world are not always calculated to afford. The domain which here arrested my course was diversified in all the wildness and irregularity of nature. A river skirted its utmost boundary, whilst the umbrageous trees, which overhung its clear and murmuring stream, partially shaded the scenery of the more distant country, affording, however, at intervals a peep at rich pastures and woodlands beyond, undulating in picturesque forms of acclivity and vales. A range of lofty hills crowned with their summits the back-ground of the extended prospect. The grailed seat of a grotto, formed by the joint hand of nature and art, invited me to a domicile amidst objects of more than ordinary beauty.

For some moments I inhaled the balmy freshness of the morning air, mingled with the fragrance of odoriferous shrubs. The early sun beamed splendour from the east, the feathered tribes, roused from their cells by the call of morning, filled the ambient air with a song of praise; and whilst some winged their path towards the blue ether, others fluttered with an unceasing chorus of praise among the spreading foliage, painted in matchless variety by the pencil of an all-powerful and unseen artist. The dew-drops, trembling upon the slender leaf, sparkled like crystals with a thousand translucent rays, vegetation again raised her drooping head, and displayed, in rich exuberance, her treasures; every circumstance combined at once to inspire pleasure, and to excite busy thought.

Soliloquies naturally intrude upon the solitude of an individual, and,

under such circumstances, few, it is probable, could withstand the spon taneous flow of impressions and images thus excited.

While all Nature around, animated by the resplendent beams of a morning sun, sports each in his own instinctive sphere of recreation, we naturally diverge into speculations connected with the character and complexion of our intellectual susceptibilities. I here imagined the person who had long been in the habit of close mental application, whose intellectual energies have been practically trained to investigation and thought, whose susceptibilities are keen, to whom the world opens an extensive, rich, and illimitable field of inquiry. What a universe of observation and of thought does he not enjoy, utterly unknown to him whose sole attention is engrossed in a dull round of customary duties, almost me chanical in their influence, where the grasp of mental perception involves no original reach of thought! One of those individuals, whose tenor of mind, unless perturbed by the contingencies of trade, swim down the stream of life with tranquillity, has in deed his enjoyments, he feels pleasures and gratifications which he terms substantial in the customary routine of calculated profits; but he knows not what obstruction means; he never experienced the ardour and the pain of intense thinking,-is awakened to no enthusiastic perception of feeling.

The chain of thought was opened, and spontaneously wandered through a succession of speculative questions connected with the subject. The citizen, for example, thus flowed the course of my speculations,―at his desk calculating his gains, or pursuing a dull round of customary duties, seldom bestows his meditations upon a train of thought or of sentiment which he deems purely visionary.

The man of leisure who devotes the hours of his life to the mere amusements of a country life, who, amidst objects whose intrinsic beauty can ever animate and charm, knows no pleasures but the sound of the "echoing horn," and the intense anxiety with which the sportsman, heedless of all besides, pursues the keen recreations which urge him in his career, laughs at the fine-drawn speculations, at the feigned and visionary gratifications

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which await the man of cultivated, mental refinement-knows nothing, it is true, of the pleasures here imagined. The enjoyments produced by mental abstraction and association, are, to him "like a tale told by an idiot," which, if it " signifies" any thing but folly, is of so recondite and equivocal a nature as to be unintelligible to minds unsophisticated by the dreams of absolute enthusiasm. These and a thousand others, all differing it may chance from each other in certain shades of temperament, pass through life, who never framed to themselves the possibility of the enjoyments here spoken of.

Multitudes who have enjoyed the benefit of education, who have sustained a character of high respectability in the several ways in which they have shone, would yet, it is more than probable, confess, were the question asked, that "the noiseless tenor of their way," was accompanied with gratifications as high as those which attended the hours of persons who have attained high eminence in literature, and who are famed for their intervals of abstraction. "The Miser himself," says Professor Ferguson, in his Essay on the History of Civil Society, can consider his wealth as the source of happiness, and has challenged his heir to have more pleasure in spending than he in amassing, his fortune."

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What is there, indeed, it will be asked by the calculating individual, to invalidate the hypothesis that a person, whose senses are utterly deaf to the calls of literary speculations, may tread the journey of life, may descend into the vale of years, and experience in as high a degree the emotions of pleasure and of happiness as the first? The sportsman and the tradesman feel the keen delights of their several pursuits, as the Poet in his "frenzied" reveries, or as the Philosopher lost in a train of favourite ab

straction.

The question, indeed, is one which

cannot, from its very nature, admit of absolute demonstration; any thing in the shape of mathematical proof is here entirely out of the question; these are matters in which it is agreed on all hands that much is to be felt and understood.

A mind that, by a course of reading and reflection, has become so far initiated as to know from its own exercises, the nature, character, and complexion, and can consequently appreciate these pleasures, will easily credit them to exist amongst certain others in a degree far beyond their own private experience. While he judges from analogies of the intenseness with which they may exist, he is sensible that it is altogether vain to endeavour to implant an idea of their reality in the breast of a person whose imagination is barren, whose energies are torpid and cold, and whose exclusions of thought seldom, unless in the calculations of private interest, take their flight beyond the ephemeral pursuits in which they are actually engaged.

Surrounded, for instance, with the circumstances, or with the objects which originated the train of thought in which I had engaged,-when all Nature concurred to exhilarate the soul with lively gratitude, and raise it to inspiration, when earth and air teems with fragrance and animation, and when gladness smiles upon the face of the country, variegated in the most beautiful forms, one of the class last pointed at would merely observe that it was a fine morning, whilst one of the former would probably feel the kindred energies of his soul expand under a sense of beauty, and his thoughts drawn forth in reverie. The latter would indeed discern a sort of beauty, so far as the colours, forms, and fragrance of the objects he views strikes upon his senses, but he remains wholly dead to any perception beyond: no ideas of harmony, congruity, and happiness, which rush through the imagination and awaken the energies of the former, would ever strike him. His ideas run, habitually, in another channel; no conception of any affinity between the sublime and the beautiful in nature, and the sympathies or the meditations of genius, as it often characterizes the human mind, enters for a moment into the calculations of a breast, which, however warmed with the benevolent dis

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