2. Rome its Ruler and its Institutions. By John Francis Maguire, M.P. London: Longman, & Co. 3. A Pastoral Charge, enjoining Public Prayers within the Eastern District of Scotland, to implore the Protection of Heaven on the Sacred Person of Pope Pius IX., and on the Temporal Dominions of the Holy See; as well as on the Rights and In- terests of the Catholic Church throughout the World. By James Bishop of Limyra, Vicar- Apostolic of the Eastern District in Scotland. 4. The Vicissitudes of Italy since the Congress of 5. Report from the Count de Rayneval, the French Envoy at Rome, to the French Minister for For- eign Affairs. London: Routledge and Co., 1859. 150 VII. The Minister's Wooing. By H. Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "Sunny Memo- VIII.-1. Essays, Political, Historical, and Miscellaneous, by Archibald Alison, L.L.D., Author of the "His- tory of Europe," &c. Blackwood and Sons, 2. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, Edited by William Smith, L.L.D., 2 vols. London: 3. L' Italia avanti il Dominio dei Romani. Da G. Micali, 4 vols. 8vo. Ferenze, 1849. IX.-1. The Life and Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury and Legate of the Holy See. By John Morris, Canon of Northampton, London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, 2. Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. A Biography. ... 266 I.-1. Twelfth Annual Report of the Poor-Law Board, 1859-60. Presented to both Houses of Parlia- 2. The Workhouse Papers, for May, June, July, and August, 1860. Published for the Workhouse Com- mittee by Messrs. Burns and Lambert. 3. The Catholic in the Workhouse. Popular State- ment of the Law as it affects him-the religious grievances it occasions-with practical suggestions for redress. By Charles A. Russell, Esq., Bar- II.-Fr. Rogeri Bacon Opera quædam hactenus inedita. Vol. I. containing, I. Opus Tertium; II. Opus Minus; III. Compendium Philosophiæ. Edited by J. S. Brewer, M.A., Professor of English Lite- III-On Nature and Grace. A Theological Treatise. Book I. Philosophical Introduction. By Wil- liam G. Ward, D. Ph., late Lecturer in Dog- 2. Correspondence with Her Majesty's Envoy Extra- ordinary, and Minister Plenipotentiary in Japan. V.-Le Progrès par le Christianisme. Conférences de Notre-Dame de Paris. Par le R. P. Félix, de la VII. Civil Correspondence and Memoranda of Field Marshal, Arthur, Duke of Wellington, K. G. IX.-Tyborne and "who went thither in the Days of Queen Elizabeth." A Sketch by the authoress of "Eastern Hospitals and English Nurses." Lon- don: Catholic Bookselling and Publishing Com- THE DUBLIN REVIEW. ΜΑΥ, 1860. ART. I.—1. Lectures on the History of Ancient Philosophy, by William Archer Butler, M.A. Cambridge: Macmillan and Co. 2. A Biographical History of Philosophy, by G. H. Lewes. London: Charles Knight. THE HE books which we have placed at the head of this article are amongst the latest English contributions to the history of Philosophy. They have been already for some time submitted to the judgment of the public, and have, on the whole, obtained a greater share of favour, than had previously been accorded to other works of the same class and of similar pretensions. Each of these works, while both are liable to very serious exceptions, is characterised by merits of a special kind, and such as are calculated to conciliate public approbation. Each is possessed of qualities which impart to it an interest altogether independent of the success with which the author has executed the task of writing a history of philosophy. Mr. Butler's book is the composition of a man of genius, who devoted talents which peculiarly fitted him for the undertaking, to the congenial labour, of interpreting the philosophy of Plato; and if he has not been successful in reconciling all the contradictions of the Platonic system, he has at least produced a work, which, from the comprehensive views which it unfolds, and from the literary merits it exhibits, deserves to be welcomed as a contribution to our literature. Although we cannot apply the former praise to Mr. Lewes' volumes, it fully deserves the latter commendation, as he has maintained throughout, VOL. XLVIII.-No. XCV. 1 a graphic and sprightly style, not usually met with in compositions of a similar tendency. Lord Bacon's complaint of the imperfection of our works devoted to tracing the history of philosophy, could not now be repeated with truth. Besides the important volumes of Ritter and Tenneman, we possess in Dr. Enfield's summary of Brucker, a valuable repertory of authorities, and of references to original sources of information. Stanley's work, though not of the necessary extent, is useful in the study of the Grecian systems. Dacier's essay, though under the disadvantage of having been written nearly a hundred years ago, contains much valuable information; and the special treatises on the two principal philosophies, those of Plato and Aristotle, of which so many have been recently produced, still further contribute to the supply of erudition, which the student of philosophy has now within his reach. It is with sincere pleasure that we welcome this very abundant supply of philosophical records. So long as we had not adequate means of judging what phases philosophy had gone through in the past, we were deprived of some of the most essential data, from which to construct a history of the human mind. A history of the human mind is the greatest intellectual want which now exists. Nothing is so much needed as an antidote for those unhealthy mental epidemics, which originating with some enthusiastic professor, spread with sad rapidity through the susceptible student class, and through them are communicated to a section of society more or less extended. A firm belief in the great original powers of the teacher is ordinarily the most effectual cause of the circulation of his system. The system is not examined into by the believers in it; indeed, as a general rule, the most steadfast believers in it, are utterly incompetent to judge of its intrinsic merits. Were the past history of philosophy understood with even tolerable distinctness, the attribution of originality to any modern philosophical scheme, would be a thing of exceedingly rare occurrence. Had the disciples who crowded around Schelling at Berlin, when he promulgated his doctrine of an "intellectual Intuition, intellectual Intuition," and who hailed it as a discovery superseding the exclusive value of consciousness and reflection, been aware of the extasy" to which Plotinus assigned an identical func |