of pomp; but it is not, on this ac count, the less erroneous.' " This interesting Report was translated into English, with an Historical Introduction, in 1785; and it is from this translation, which is respectably executed, that the preceding detail has been almost verbatim extracted. It is very important however to mention, that in addition to this Memoir, which was obviously meant for the public eye, the commissioners deemed it their duty to communicate a private Report to the king; in which, with a laudable solicitude for the morals of the sex, they disclosed certain circumstances, accompanying the administration of the magnetism, in the highest degree unfavourable to the purity of the fe male feeling and character, and which, by designing individuals, might be rendered subservient to purposes of the most criminal profligacy. This secret Memoir has since been made public. An exposure so complete, accomplished by men whose integrity and talents were acknowledged over the whole of Europe, speedily produced the effects that were to have been expected from it. In a few months, Mesmer and his animal magnetism were forgotten. Since the overthrow of this system, the most remarkable popular delusion which has prevailed, is the belief in the influence of the metallic tractors of Perkins. With how much talent this deception was exposed, by Dr Hay garth and his scientific friends, is ge nerally known. To this most able and intelligent physician, physiology is in debted for a series of experiments, displaying, in a manner still more striking perhaps than had hitherto been done, the influence of powerful emotions on the corporeal frame. G. Edinburgh, 1st. Sept. ON THE UTILITY OF STUDYING AN- MR EDITOR, Ir is my object, on the present occasion, to advert to some of the advantages of which, if impartially consider ed, the study of ancient and foreign languages will be found to be productive. The first advantage which I shall notice, as resulting from an acquaintance with such studies, is the invigor ating influence which they have over the understanding. To be convinced of the reality of this fact, it is only necessary to attend to the operations of the mind to be called forth in learn ing any language. In acquiring a knowledge of Latin, for instance, person ought, (if I may be allowed to borrow the words of Beattie) to be able to "show, that he not only knows the general meaning, the import of the particular words, but also can refer each to its class; enumerate all its terminations, specifying every change of sense, however minute, that may be produced by a change of inflection or arrangement; explain its several dependencies; distinguish the literal meaning from the figurative; one spe cies of figure from another; and even the philosophical use of words from the idiomatical, and the vulgar from the elegant; recollecting occasionally other words and phrases that are sy nonimous or contrary, or of different though similar signification; and ac counting for what he says, either from the reason of the thing, or by quoting a rule of art or a classical authority," a mode of proceeding which must no doubt operate differently, according as it is more or less scrupulously observed; but by which, even when partially adopted, and as far as possible applied to other languages, it will not surely be denied, the attention must be fixed, the judgment strengthened, and the memory improved. All this, it may be answered, is very true, and all this may be safely granted; but it may be asked, in conformity with a very popular objection, at how high a price are these benefits to be purchased? Why at the expense of thought?-at the expense of that which alone merits a moment's consideration; for, it may be maintained, the natural tendency of such an employment of the human faculties is to abstract the attention from things to words; from real important knowledge to things insignificant in themselves, and valuable only as a means for the attainment of an end. This, however, is evidently founded upon error. Every thing is liable to be abused. But because some men have been deluded by contracted views, and foolishly imagined that their mental aliment was augmented in proportion as their verbal stores were increas ed, it does not surely follow that all are equally misled by fancy; or that, in studying different languages, a man may not, at the same time, and with at least equal fervour, attend to the thought as well as to the expression of an author. In fact, no sensible person ever thought of separating the two objects. But besides their utility in invigor ating the understanding, ancient and foreign languages ought likewise to be studied. Inasmuch as they facilitate the attainment of our own tongue. In glancing at this part of the subject, I do not mean to insist upon the advantages of etymological researches, in opposition to usage and the practice of the best models of English style. With respect to their mutual influence upon composition, the former must undoubtedly be ranked infinitely be low the latter. But I believe it will be admitted by the most inveterate enemy of such inquiries, that by tracing words to their originals, and by viewing them in all different varieties of acceptation in which they have been successively received, a much greater insight into the principles of our vernacular speech will be obtained, than could have been expected from any other source. Another advantage to be derived from acquisitions of this nature arises from the intimate connexion subsisting between the literature of other countries and the literature of this. They are, indeed, so interwoven with each other, that there is scarcely one celebrated work in the English language whose pages do not teem with allusions to ancient and foreign writ ers. Their very phraseology is often introduced; sometimes for its beauty -sometimes for arguments connected with it. If unconversant with the originals from whom quotations are thus frequently introduced, we must, therefore, be content to remain ignorant of many passages in our own writers, and, consequently, a great portion of our pleasure and our profit must be lost. Conversation, too,-at least that kind of it which ought most highly to be prized-the conversation of the knowing and informed,-turns so frequently upon books, and upon topics to which books relate, that without a tolerable knowledge of other languages besides our own, or unless endowed with very extraordinary powers indeed, we must either be debarred from the enjoyment of the benefits of cultivated society altogether, or be compelled to listen to that which we do not understand, and which can only mortify our feelings by impressing us with a sense of our own inferiority. But independently of advantages. thus extensive and adventitious, ancient and foreign languages will be found to be well entitled to attention, from the pleasure and instruction which they themselves are capable of affording. It is to these languages that we are to look for some of the best writers that the world has ever produced. In poetry, in oratory, and in some branches of philosophy, they have never been surpassed. Shall we then deliberately relinquish the possession of such intellectual treasures, merely because we cannot undergo the toil of rendering them accessible? Translations will not answer the purpose, "Let any man, says the writer whom I formerly quoted, " read a translation of Cicero and Livy, and then study the original in his own tongue, and he shall find himself not only more delighted with the manner, but also more fully instructed in the matter." "I never could bear to read a translation of Cicero," says Burke, in a letter to Sir William Jones. "Demosthenes," continues the same writer," suffers, I think, somewhat less; but he suffers greatly-so much that no English reader could well conceive from whence he had acquired the reputation of the first of orators." "I once intended," says Dugald Stewart, in reference to some extracts from Bacon, which he had inserted in the original Latin-" I once intended to have translated them; but found myself quite unable to preserve the weighty and authoritative tone of the original." In the enumeration just exhibited, it will be observed, I have not included the advantages to be derived from the study of the dead languages, by persons who wish to be of the learned professions, and from that of the living ones, by those whose inclination, or whose way of life, renders it necessary to travel into foreign parts. On this branch of the subject indeed, it were useless to enlarge; for to persons of this description, such philological studies must be considered not as a mere matter of choice, but as absolutely necessary. REMARKS ON THE STUDY OF SOME BRANCHES OF NATURAL HISTORY. THERE is not any branch of Natural History which has been more sparingly illustrated, in a popular manner, than the science of Entomology; though it may safely be averred, that few of its departments present a more extensive field of observation, or are more capable of exciting astonishment and admiration in the minds of its votaries. In truth, Entomology, as a science, so far from having kept pace with the advancements in other branches of natural knowledge, may be said rather to have retrograded during the labours of the existing generation. That the description of external character, and the determination of species, has been carried to a great degree of excellence cannot be denied; but that a corresponding neglect of the habits, the instincts, and the wonderful economy of insects, has taken place, must also unfortunately be admitted. That systematic arrangement is necessary in natural history, as in all other branches of human knowledge, is a fact too obvious to stand in need of illustration, and is perhaps sufficiently proved by the circumstance of Buffon-one of the most accomplished men, and the most brilliant writer whom natural history has enlisted beneath her banners-having failed to induce the prevalence of a contrary opinion, notwithstanding every effort of his powerful genius. The want of fixed and determinate principles in the arrangement of Buffon, was indeed "the very head and front of his offending," and it is well for science that his example has not been followed. The human mind, however, as has been often remarked, is at all times apt to indulge in extremes, and within thirty years from the death of that philosopher, who affected to disdain the trammels of system, we have seen a cloud of men arise, some of them not undistinguished in the annals of science, who have devoted themselves industriously, and almost exclusively, in raising up and tumbling down one system of classification after another, without relation to any consequent object of deeper interest or greater importance, like children tracking out the plans and the boundaries of temVOL. I. ples and of cities upon the sand by the sea-shore. I believe it will be acknowledged, on reflection, as well by the uninitiated as the learned, that a comparatively imperfect knowledge of those minuter parts of animals which distinguish and characterise the species, if united with a zeal for acquiring an intimate acquaintance with their instinctive habits, their uses in the creation, their relations to each other as members of one great family, and their beautiful adaptation to the soils and to the climates in which they exist, is of greater value than an exclusive knowledge, however perfect it may be, of those corporeal differences or affinities, by which the various species, families, or classes of animals, may be either separated or combined. If, therefore, it be true, that of two evils we should choose the less, I would not hesitate to say, that it would be ́ far more advisable that naturalists should follow the loose and desultory method of Buffon, and others of his school, than by an entire subjection and devotion to all the minutiae of systematic detail, to neglect whatever is great and beautiful in the science, and thereby forfeit all claim to the praises of mankind, as agents in the extension of the most admirable species of human knowledge. The conduct of such men is in fact incapable of vindication, in as far as the perversion of talent, and the neglect of profiting by those facilities which the nature of their studies afford them, are incapable of being vindicated. Such a mode of prosecuting scientific research, if it deserve such an appellation, evidently lessens, not only the degree of interest which natural history is calculated to excite, but by confining this pleasure, limited though it be, to the understanding of those only I have much pleasure in mentioning one work, which certainly forms an exception to the general rule. I allude to the "Introduction to Entomology," by Kirby and Spence, in which many singular facts, judiciously arranged, are collected from the writings of ancient and modern authors, which illustrate well some singular particu lars in the history of Insects. I would also recommend, as worthy of perusal, an elegant "Essay on the Philosophy of Natural History," by Fothergill, published a few years ago, which contains some pleasing and enlightened views of the subject. 4 D who have made the science the professed object of their study, it greatly diminishes the extent and magnitude of its influence, and, consequently, the importance of the science itself. For, it may be asked, what interest can an individual, in pursuit of general information, be supposed to take in reading a mere catalogue of proper names, or in poring over an everlasting series of minute descriptions, from which he may be led to believe, that natural history resolves itself into a determination of shades of colour, or the three material qualities of length, breadth, and thickness; and that animals do not differ from each other, except in the shape or structure of their bodies, the organization of their limbs, or the nature of their joints, claws, teeth, and articulations? Such, however, would be the natural conclusion of most men, on perusing the works of the worthy system-makers of the present day. A rage for classification has overpowered every feeling connected with the nobility of true science, and the talents of men, naturally acute, having been diverted into an improper channel, there has been, as might naturally be expected, a declension in intellectual power, in proportion to the decrease in the dignity of the objects by which that power is either exercised or evolved.. What would be thought of the man who would labour for years in acquiring a perfect knowledge of a difficult language, and after having attained the object of his wishes, instead of endeavouring to reap the good fruit of his perseverance and industry, would immediately renounce all communication with men who spoke that language, and forswear the books in which it was written? Would he not be generally considered as an unmeaning enthusiast, a waster of intellect, an idler in perseverance, or, perhaps, like the "Learned Pig," as acting merely from the impulse of a certain species of literary instinct, which he was incapable of modifying or rendering subservient to the dictates of reason? So it is with the man of science, who rests satisfied, not with collecting facts illustrative of particular traits in the character and habits of animals, for these would be useful, although no ingenious or philosophical deductions were drawn from them; but who, retiring to the solitude of his museum, examines species after species, genus after genus, order after order, and class after class, till he has almost exhausted the arcana of nature; and then, as it were, satiated for a time by the brilliancy of his discoveries, and desirous to benefit humanity, he brings forth as the offspring of his intellectual fruition, not an elucidation of the manners of animals, or a description of their forms, as immediately and admirably connected with their peculiar propensities and modes of life, but a most elaborate catalogue of their names and designations, compounded of demi-Greek and barbarous Latin, which can have no other effect than that of confounding the intellects of the boys of Eaton or Harrow, or other seminaries intended for promulgating a knowledge of the ancient tongues. Having rested for a time, anon the potent and irresistible spirit of classification descends upon him. New lights have pierced through the darkness which overshadowed him, and again the species, the genera, the orders, and the classes, are summoned before the dread tribunal, to undergo another and a stricter scrutiny. Spots, specks, dimples, and dilatations, and even entire scales and hairs are discovered, of which no one had, at any former period, ever imagined the existence. Of course, a revolution in great part of the system of nature is the necessary consequence. The trumpet of alarm is sounded-the system is called upon to make its appearanceit is weighed in the balance and found wanting-and is consequently levelled with the dust, presenting to mankind a mournful picture of the instability of all human wisdom. Thus, then, is, the labour of several weeks, or months, or even of a year or two, and which but yesterday was considered as a most perfect model of philosophical arrangement, as a bright and glittering star in the dim regions of science, overturned, and demolished, and cast down, and its beams quenched, and extinguished, and put out, and “made as a thing that has never been." But let not its successor rejoice in this fatal overthrow, or confide in a more durable existence. "For thou art perhaps like it for a season, thy years shall have an end. Thou shalt sleep in thy clouds careless of the voice of the morning," and "men shall seek for thee, and find thee not; and thy very name shall be unknown." What indeed can afford a more con 1817.] On the Study of some Branches of Natural History. vincing proof of the errors which exist in the present mode of prosecuting the study of particular branches of natural history, than the never-ceasing changes which take place in the views and principles of the system-makers themselves. Not only do they in many essential particulars differ from each other, but what is peculiarly unfortunate, the same individual is rarely impressed with similar ideas concerning the true principles of classification for a longer period than a couple of months at a time; so that it would be scarcely possible to conceive a more fruitless task, than an attempt to give an exposition of the different systems of the naturalists of the day, as the author, on having finished what he thought a very fair and luminous statement of their doctrines, would find that one half had in the interim renounced their former opinions, and erected their new systems upon principles most opposite to those which they had formerly assumed. It would be easy to illustrate the truth of these observations, by examples from the productions of ingenious men both at home and abroad; but it is not the object of this short communication to enter at present into detail. Such an examination in fact would be tedious and perhaps unintelligible, to those who have merely attended to natural history as a popular science; and to those who are more deeply versed, it is unnecessary to notice facts which are so palpably obvious. Too abundant proofs may be found in some modern systems, where the lists of synonyms, and the references to former emanations of the classifying principle, sufficiently demonstrate their own fallacy by contradicting each other. Every enlightened naturalist must be aware of the injury which science sustains by such most erroneous and mistaken views, and of the ridicule to which those who maintained them have exposed themselves. Perhaps that ridicule may not have reached their own ears, but its cause must be apparent even to them if they choose to open their eyes. "But what are lights to those who blinded 571 sibly be derived from these and similar proceedings. When I talk of benefit, I allude not to the question of cui bono, which might be put by a worldly man while emptying his daily gain into his coffers but what increase of knowledge is derived from it? what light is thrown on the beautiful operations of nature? Is natural history, properly so called, in any degree dignified or advanced by such modes of study, and by such precious lucubrations? Is the wisdom of Omnipotence glorified by the discovery, that one insect has a joint more in the articulations of its antennæ, and another a joint less in those of its toes, than has hitherto been supposed? unless, indeed, it be at the same time shewn, and which it universally may be, that such variations and distinctions are the result of a beneficent Providence which uniformly and wisely adapts the means to the end in view; or is there no other mode of investigating the wonders of this beautiful world, than by taking every thing piecemeal with a pair of pincers? I am far from wishing to throw ridicule on the labours of the professed zoologist. A knowledge of the detail of natural history is necessary to the enjoyment of her sublimest mysteries. What I would object to is merely the study of this detail, to the exclusion of more enlarged, I may add more enlightened, views. The preceding observations are in some degree applicable to the spirit which at present may be said to pervade every department of zoology, but that which I have chiefly in view is Entomology, or the Natural History of Insects. It may indeed be supposed by some, that these minute creatures are too insignificant to deserve our attention, or, that if studied at all, the method already alluded to was the only one which, from their utter want of importance in the economy of nature, could possibly be pursued. But this is a most lame and impotent conclusion. I remember the words of an old poet, which deserve the perusal of such reasoners. The passage is from a curious poem by Guidott, on the history of the ephemeron, a wondrous fly that liveth but five hours," prefixed to Tyson's translation of Swammerdam's Ephemeri vita. "Although the great Creator's wisdom hone Both in his foot-stool and his throne, |