and government :-not in the phantoms of time, but in the realities of eternity. Religion, or as the illustrious Bacon expresses himself" sacred and inspired Divinity, the sabbath and port of all men's labours and peregrinations"-by a voice beyond the light of nature resolves such questions as these, wherein are contained a revelation of such stupendous mysteries, as even "angels desire to look into :"-What is the true character of that Great Being who made, preserves, and governs all things? What are the relations in which we stand to him, and what are the duties that arise out of these relations? How came moral and physical evil into this our lower world, and how are they to be lessened, or removed? How is guilty and apostate man to be restored to the favour of his Creator ? What are the general and leading principles on which the moral government of the world is conducted? And in what is that system of divine dispensation to terminate, so far as the destinies of mankind are concerned? Such are a few of the questions, that Revelation answers-questions, compared with the grandeur of which, the noblest discoveries of philosophy and science sink into absolute insignificance, and appear "less than nothing and vanity." It cannot, therefore, be an unjust satire on the enlightened wits of the present liberal age, to adduce still further, as we have already done, the authority of Bacon, the great prince of modern philosophers; who may be said to differ from Aristotle -his only rival among the sages of antiquity-in this one respect, that, whereas the greek philosopher, in the true and beautiful language of Lord Bacon himself, 'by an ambition as boundless as that of his Royal pupil (Alexander), aspired at universal monarchy over the opinions of men, as the other over their bodies and fortunes ;" and that "after the manner of Turkish despots, he thought he could not reign securely unless all his brethren were slain :" *-but

* The enlightened reader, I trust, will pardon the insertion of the following extract from the most acute, and philosophic metaphy

not so did the great Father of Experimental Philosophy erect his empire over the minds of men; for, Bacon, by the modest, humble, unassuming powers of an unrivalled genius, and by the slow, but sure and irresistible march of truth, propounded to the world such enlightened laws in his celebrated method of induction for the advancement and stability of science

sician that modern days have produced-Dr. Thomas Reid. In his Analysis of Aristotle's Logic,"-which is universally esteemed as the best analysis yet given of that philosopher's writings,-the learned author remarks." Aristotle was the first we know, says Strabo, who composed a library. And in this the Egyptian and Pergamenian kings copied his example. As to his genius, it would be disrespectful to mankind not to allow an uncommon share to a man who governed the opinions of the most enlightened part of the species near two thousand years. If his talents had been laid out solely for the discovery of truth and the good of mankind, his laurels would have remained for ever fresh; but he seems to have had a greater passion for fame than for truth, and to have wanted rather to be admired as the Prince of philosophers than to be useful ; SO that it is dubious, whether there be in his character most of the philosopher, or of the sophist. The opinion of Bacon is not without probability. His writings carry too evident marks of that philosophical pride, vanity, and envy, which have often sullied the character of the learned. He determines boldly things above all human knowledge; and enters upon the most difficult questions, as his pupil entered upon a battle, with full assurance of success. He delivers his decisions oracularly, and without any fear of mistake. Rather than confess his ignorance, he hides it under hard words, and ambiguous expressions, of which his interpreters can make what they please. There is even reason to suspect, that he wrote often with affected obscurity, either that the air of mystery might procure great veneration, or that his works might be understood only by the adepts, who had been initiated in his philosophy. His conduct towards the writers that went before him has been much censured. Bacon's opinion on this point is well known. Ludovicus Vives charges him with detracting from all philosophers, that he might derive that glory to himself, of which he robbed them. He rarely quotes an author but with a view to censure, and is not very fair in representing the opinions which he censures."-Reid's "Analysis of Aristotle's Logic," chap. i. §. 1. This description in conjunction with Bacon's congenial sentiments, cannot be uninteresting to those who are aware of the tyranny and despotism, with which Aristotle's philosophy fettered all the world, and particularly the Roman Hierarchy, which even yet continues unchanged. And it may assist us, in forming a conjecture of the almost insuperable obstacles, which every where opposed our great English philosopher, in the promulgation, and reception of his immortal works.

and learning, and furnished all future inquirers into the hidden recesses of truth, with such unerring rules for the subjugation-by experiment and analysis-even of nature itself; insomuch, that his inductive process, and intellectual logic, commenced a new epoch in the annals of the fluctuations of human knowledge, and gained the willing assent of those, who had long been inveterately the greatest advocates, for the subtilties of the Grecian philosopher's system. And thus we find that this great luminary of modern ages, even in himself, furnishes a striking proof of the truth of his brilliant discoveries of the surest engines for the detection and establishment of truth; for, it may indeed be affirmed, that, as all succeeding philosophers have closely and implicitly followed his dicta, and built upon his foundation;-so that ascending from these individual facts, and the experimental proofs, which such supply, we arrive at the demonstration and absolute certainty of the laws of Bacon, and regard him, and his philosophy,-confirmed, as they both have been, by a lengthened and continued train of established facts, and tried experiments,-capable of universal application; and consequently, an unerring (humanly speaking) oracle in the diversified walks of logic, universal grammar, metaphysics, ethics, jurisprudence, education,* and Religion. We may therefore contemplate Bacon, -with a profundity of sagacity, and depth of penetration, never before or since equalled, -as having explored the whole intellectual phænomena of man-"the laws, the resources, and the limits

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* The readers of Bacon's works are aware, that on each of these topics, the great philosopher wrote most profound and enlightened treatises. I cannot here omit remarking, that on the subject of education, in his seventh book De Augmentis Scientiarum," under the head of "The Georgics of the Mind," the importance of education is not only proved, but safe and admirable rules are suggested for the development and improvement of the intellectual and moral character, a work which should be in the hands of every instructor of youth, and particularly deserving of attention in the present day, when education and knowledge are making such rapid progress among all classes of society.

of the human understanding,"-as having unfolded all the important faculties of the mind, ascertained its capacities and improveability,—and as having set an eternal line of demarcation, between the vain imperfections, and substantial acquisitions of human knowledge. In his productions, then, the noblest theories are exhibited to mankind for the investigation of physical and moral truth, that the human mind has ever conceived. In these laws, we do not find an obtrusive display of visionary speculations, or uncertain conjectures. But in them we are struck with wonder at the fertility of the imagination, and the grandeur of the conception, which produced such brilliant speculations. And in the immortal remains of this master-spirit, we may view the Reformer of Learning up-borne by his mighty and intrepid genius, as to the summit of some lofty mountain, penetrating with his eagle sight through the surrounding gloom, and by his almost prophetic visions of futurity, forming such an unerring process of logical argumentation, as will for ever serve as an established and prescriptive conductor, to the labours of those accurate investigators, who descend into the deep-buried mines of truth.* But let it be ever borne in mind, by those

* The amazing revolutions which Bacon effected in the whole regions of Science are prodigious. Since his time, there is not any one branch of knowledge, that has not been extended, in consequence of his enlightened maxims, to a degree, far surpassing the entire accumulated acquisitions of all preceeding ages. We may say with Mosheim in his review of The State of Learning and Philosophy” in the seventeenth century, that," the learned men of this happy period discovered a remarkable zeal for the improvement of Science; their zeal was both inflamed and directed by one of the greatest and rarest geniuses that ever arose for the instruction of mankind. This was Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, who, towards the commencement of this century, opened the paths that lead to true philosophy in his admirable works. It must be confessed that a great part of the improvements in learning, and of the progress in science that were made during this century, was owing to the counsels and directions of this extraordinary man" (Eccles. Hist. Cent. xvii. §. 1.). To attempt an enumeration of those distinguished men, who have professedly followed the guidance of Bacon's philosophy, would require a lengthened treatise, on all the modern improvements in the various

lesser wits, who are so willing, at all times, to shine with a borrowed splendour, and to bask in the en

walks of learning. We may, however, mention a few. In Mathematics, and Natural Philosophy, the acknowledged disciples of our great English Philosopher, were Huygens, Newton, Boyle, Wallis, Hooke, Maclaurin, De la Hire, the Cassinis, Flamstead, Cotes, Halley, the Gregorys, De La Caille, Bradley, Clairaut, the two Bernoulli, D'Alembert, Euler, Mayer, Frisi, Simpson, La Place, and La Grange. In Jurisprudence and Metaphysics, they who grounded their various systems, avowedly, on the maxims of Bacon, were the illustrious Grotius, Buchanan, Selden, Puffendorf, Leibnitz, Lockewho upon studying the works of Bacon, renounced the absurd jargon of the schools, and adopted in his "Essay," the mode of philosophizing recommended by the latter,—and Montesquieu. As we have, already, had occasion to quote occasionally this last writer, and as we may often again have recourse to his opinions, it may be well to take a more particular notice of the celebrated author of the "Spirit of Laws," who may be regarded as the founder of the new School of Political science. Montesquieu carried on most successfully the project which the eminent French civilian-Bodinus, in his most celebrated work Livres de la Republique," and Bacon had commenced and recommended, that of rearing a superstructure of juridical science on the basis of philosophical laws, and combination of historical facts. Montesquieu may thus be termed the First of Reformers in the science of Jurisprudence, just as Bacon and Luther claim the same marks of distinction in their respective provinces. We cannot do better than add the opinion of one of the most enlightened writers of the age-the late Professor Dugald Stewart. "Instead of confining himself (Montesquieu), after the example of his predecessors, to the interpretation of one part of the Roman code by another, he studied the spirit of these laws, in the political views of their authors, and in the peculiar circumstances of that extraordinary race. He combined the science of law with the history of political society. Convinced that the general principles of human nature are every where the same, he searched for new lights among the subjects of every government, and the inhabitants of every climate; and while he thus opened inexhaustible and unthought-of resources to the student of jurisprudence, he indirectly marked out to the legislator the extent and limits of his power, and recalled the attention of the philosopher from abstract and useless theories, to the only authentic monuments of the history of mankind" (Stewart's "Dissertation on the progress of Mental Philosophy," p. 144, &c.). We have not noticed the great number of modern French experimentalists, who have been guided in their laborious researches by the lights of Bacon's philosophy;-of these, particularly, we may mention Buffon, and Cuvier, whose physiological labours, bear the manifest stamp, of the Baconian maxims for the process of physical investigation. And the same remark may be made of the produc