78

Biographia Literaria
eroterice to call

Fidhte's
In
scendentalcn fdealismus,

Attempt

79

honours 9f_ martyrdom with less offence, than by simply replying, " f meant what I said, and at the age of near fouiscore, I have something else, and more important to do, than to write a commentary on my own works.'i Frcxrn's Wisscasclzaftslehre, or Lore of Ultimate Science, was to add the key-stone of the arch: and by commencing with an aetr-instead of- a tlios or substanra, Fichte assuredl! qaye the- .first- ^mortal blow to Spinozism, as taught bi Spinoza f imself ; and supplied the idea of a systeri truly metaphysical, and of a arctalh.ysigue truly systematic: (i.ti. havi_ng its -spring and principle- within- itie$. But ittis fundamental idea he overbuilt with a heavy niass of mere notions, and psychological acts of arbitrary reflection. Thus his theory degenerated into a cruder cgoismus, a boastful and hyperstoic- hostility.to Nature,.as lifeless, godless, and altogether unholy: while his religion consisted in the assumption of a mere Ordo ordinans, which \ue were permittdd
. l lhe folloving burlesqu.c on tbe Ficbtean Egaismrs may, pcrbaps, be amusing to thc fcw who bavc studied the syste.m, and. to th6se who are ffii"qr;I;iJ;ililil;;;; con'vcy as tolerablc alikeness of Fichte's ideatism as can be.*p.ttia iiom an arbwuf,

Goo; and his ethics in an ascetic, and almost monkish, mortification of the natural passions and desires.
Schelling's Natur-P/rilosolhie, and the System des tran-

I first found a genial coincidence wlth much that I had toiled out for myself, and a powerful assisiance in what I had yet to do. I have introduced this statement, as appropriate to the narrative. nature of this sketch i yet rather in reference to the work which I have announced in a preceding page, than to my present subject. It would he but a mere act of justice
to myself, were

of thought, or even similarity of phrase, will not be at all times a certain proof that the passage has been borrowed
from Schelling, or that the conceptions were originally learnt him. In this instance, as in the dramatic lectures of Schlegel to which I have before alluded, from the same motive of self-defence against the charge of plagiarism, many of the most striking resemblances, indeed all the main and fundamental ideas, were born and matured in - my mind before I had ever seen a single page of the German Philosopher; and I might indeed affirm with truth, before the more important works of Schelling had been written, or at least made public. Nor is this coincidence at all to be wondered at. We had studied in the same school; been disciplined by the same preparatory philosophy, namely, the writings of Kant; we had both equal obligations to the polar logic and dynamic philosophy of Giordano Bruno; and Schelling has lately, and, as of recent acquisition, avowed that same affectionate reverence for the labours of Behmen, and other mystics, which I had formed at a much earlier period. The coincidence of Schelling's system with certain general ideas of Behmen, he declares to have been mere coincidence I while my obligations have been more direct. .EIa needs give to Behmen only feelings of sympathy; while I owe him a debt of gratitude. God forbid ! that I should be suspected

I to warn my future

readers, than an identity

from

cancaturc. ._tLo_9gtsgqtgal__Imperati.vc, or_ .the- lnnunciation of the new Teutonic God, 'sr'oENKAr[aN 3 e dithvrambic ode, by euenronr vox Kr.usiiiin, ci.*: matian, znd Sabrector in Gltmaasic.* * * Ea ! Dai viccs sa/cns. i)sc Diaat

ggr.lE{riii-''f tiil-'ia-riil-.oiirmlbcrativrs,
rlcr1e on thrs market-cross aloud

Lbe forrr aod the substanco, tbe wbat and the whv.

I, I, M

itsclf I

I cry:

xlii" il:you and 81,*,;i!::a:t*,i1;i,il."i1:' G'': I, bc. and he. vou and I.
All
souts ana

ht toai is'.to i'iirurr r t

&li#f:'{,l,le

He's a herctic dog who but adds Bettt Martin I Tbus cried tbe God witb hieh imocria-l i"" i: In robe of stifr."st statc, thal scoded at beauiy, A prououn.verb impereiive be sbone_ (For-ethics boast a sy-ntax 9f their own) Or if in ye, yet as I ioth deoute ve. In O I I.-y6i,-tbe -vocative o? dut'yi I of thc uiorld's whole Lexicon thi root I Of tbe whole un-ivcrse of toucb, sound, sigbt Tbe genitivc and ablative to boot : The acc'rqative of wrong, the norn'native of riEht. And in all cascs tbe casf.bsolutoi -Self.coostrued, I all other uroods decline: lmperativc, from notbing wc dcrive us; Yct as a super-postulate of mine. Unconstrued aitecedencc I assieh To X, Y, Z, the God fxfdtita-s I
n fit"lii::il:iltH,ao"flH1';'i,ne,utar row

Allmyll allmyll

witb tbis startincr)

of a wish to enter into a rivalry with Schelling for

original genius, but as the founder

the

honours so unequivocally his right, not only as a great and

thc name of Mr. Richard Saumarez, a gentleman equally well known as a medical man and as a philantbropist, but wbo ?emands notice on the present occasion as

Nature, and as the most successful improaer of the Dynamic Systemr which, begun by Bruno, was re-introduced (in a I It would be an act of higb and almost criminal injustice to p:rss over in silencc

of the Philosophy of

8o

Biographia Literaria

\'

mo.re.philosophical form, and freed from all its impurities and visionary accompaniments) by Kant; in whom it was the native and necessary growth-of- his own system. Kant,s followers, _hoyeve1, on-whom (for the greater part) their master's cloak had- fallen withoui, or with"a very icanty portion of, his spirit, had adopted his dynamic ideas, only as a more refined species of mechanics. with exception of one or two fundamental ideas, which cannot be wilhheld from Fichte, to Schelling we owe the completion, and the most important- victories, of this revolutiofr in pfiilosophy. To me it will be happiness and honour enough, should f succountrymen, and in the application of it to the most awful of subjects for the most important of purposes. Whether a work is the offspring of a man's own- spirit,. and the product of ori-gin_al .thinking will be discovered by those who are its sole legitimate Judges, by better.tests than the mere reference to dates. For ieaders in general, let what, ever shall be found in this or any future work of mine, that resembles, or coincides with, the doctrines of my German predecessor, though contemporary, be wholly atdibuted to him : provided, that the absence of distinct references to his books, which I could not at all times rnake with truth as the author of " A new system of Physiology " in two volumes .octavo. oublished ygz; and in r8rz of "An -Examination oi-the naturat and altificiaisi.t.i"i-"i Philosoph.ywhich priicipjii

Obligations

ceed

in

rendering the .system itself inietiigiUle

to

my

inescatos.subito

procure more than two of .d.on-i his. b-ooks, viz. the first uorr,o" of his collected Tracts, and his system of Transc."a""t"r rdearism; to which, however, I muit add a small- p"-p-rrr"t against Fichte, the spirit of which *"ito my .feerings painfully incongruous with. the principles, and -wtrictr t?itt-in. allowance afforded to an a"tiirreslsl airpi"y'.["'ih" .iruut wisdom rather than the *irao* oid";--iirg}iiruthroue of u, " 9:::_ ventriloquist: Itocare not from whoie mouth the sounds are sunp-osed proceed, if only the words are audible and inieiligiol..- ,rAfi;;, I must confess to be in doubt, whetheri should ui,r,g ii.r"Tlil,-;-";;ir'bri'gharf contrary to the eye of the worldland the *oriJ'ro-potent ro in most men's hearts, that I.shalr'endanger regardred or not to be undeistood.,, "itt.i-*t to be And to conclude the subject of citation, with a cruster of citations, which as taken fr"orn uoot s, may contribute to the reader,s amusement, as "oi'in- "ttto., ur", a before a sermon 2-'( pelst nihi- gu;aem iet;i;;i uofu"Lry

(eheu

designating-citations or thoughts actualry aer;ia from him; and which, r trust, would, aft6r this g;;;"i;;["ot"r.ag-""i be sup,erfluous; be not charged on me as an ungenerous concealment or inten_tional piagiarisn. -r--t"*
angusta

to Schelling

gr

iot !) 'U..'" hitherto ;b[ ;;

indeed

now prevail'' in one volume octavo, entitled,,,ttre oi physiological.and physical science." The latter woik is not quite equal to the Former in style_or arran-gement;. and-the-re is_a greater necessity of disiinguishing the principles of the author's philosophy from his-conjectures conierning coiour, tbE atmospheric matter, comets, &c. whiih, whether just br tv ,ro *""n. necessary -c-onsequences of that philosophy. yet dven "tton"oo.,"ri in this d6partmint of thii volume, which.r regard as comparatively the inferjor work, tb,e reasbnings by which Mr. saumarez invalidates the immanence of an infinite power in any finiie su-bstance are -the offspring of no common mind; and the experime'nt on the u*1""".iliiii" "ili" air is at lelst plausible an4 highly ingenious. But the merit, which will secirie both to the book and to the writer a high and honourable name with Dosteritv. consists in tbe masterly.force of reasoning, an-d the copiousn".s ;iirdili;il;itl;-;t[h h"i;; aslial.led, ano (ln _my -oplnron) subverted the tyranny of the mechanic svstem in physlotogy; establrsbed not gnly the existence offn-al c-auses, but their neceisity and ethcrency;rn every system that merits the name of pbilosophical; and, substiiutine life_and progressive qower for the contradictory ineriifotce, has a iieht io be k"or"f, and rcmembered as the 6rst insraur.ator-of the ilynamii phifosophy in-England. Thc author's views, as far as conce:ns himself, a.r_e uriborroo'ia i.i"pLi"tf [i;;*r;;; he neith-er__posse.ssed _nor d-o bis writingi discover, the least acquiiniaric" *itl i[" ""a works. of Kant, in which the germs ofthe philos6phy e*ist : aid liii'"olo*.r *"r" published many,year.s before tk: full d.evelopment bf these- germs by schelling. tur. saumarez s detectlon -ot the lJ?unonian system was no light or ordinary servi& thoroughly satisfactory. It.is sufficient atibis time to 6a". jtated tl. r."tJ.. Ii "oni"i"tio,j'IJ tb9,pJ9f1c9 to the, work, which I have already.annou-nced-o-n the Logoi, f h;;; exhibited in detail the merits of tbis w_riter, aid genuine philosopher, iLd needed only. bave -taken his foundation somewhat ieeper-and *ia!i to t-.u"'suferseded a part
a.t

se

sustineant

tTsaiayfere pr2lsus etiam o airtt, ibrolositum studiorunr, nisi maturc "i[is";;;; i-ori\gitrr,
rebus inconmodum
res
.

lroftentult et lege,re ."i:i tr.?a'art d,elicA;i;;* facit, ni/til: uide..et discfpline jiilosoplria
seaeriorcs et "

jam honines adeo esseipresertina q"i

ch;;r;;;';
suidem

iit roru*

nisi caaetur.
.'. -A 'oo

anini airilis

seculi nostri ruditate cay'lalrix ilra commdi-il{;;"tiu ,obu, ornne, oninen airtutem masculami-p)07;gotoro

er persuisa prudentia literbrum, si ,"ii6","" r;rri sailuntie airtutisgue -specie mortales Suaedet tg!"n uiarbitior, lzaud ita multo joit, jro-*sticana ^;rii, ri)li)durrnr.
-

,barbarics est, ifateor':' sed minus y'otest tanren,- guam i//a mollitie.s

labit, quaril dedit barbaries olim. pertinar

tii-'*ogno*

d;;;

prophetic remark, which has been in fulfilment from

the time ;

ar.rd_

scarcely rgmemle.r

in

any_

wor!

on any ru-ujai

^6ttr:'*Holl.;ff to science and philosophic ,.uron. -ordo, Est

s aga

:iil;iti.*':;*3tf
'

",:,re::

j!*g::;

considerable

ofmy labours.

medius it aelut equestris, ingeniorum quident cium, e t connndo r u m re 0u s /zi m a n i s n o n'to * roln p rim ant r'
G

8z
nagnitudinem

BiograPhia Literaria
latmtium.
Eorant' hominum, ut .sic dicam'
esse,

Chapter of Digression necessarily so, I hope. If I am not misinformed,

consists

83
pedantry
place,

nihil temerc loqui, assuesccre *olo, annona ist. Sedulum loiir;, ct imaginc prudenti.e et modistia tcgcfc.a.ngutstlgles qui.isti in cioilibus ac iaptus,Tum ;;;i;; pittenT, irercitationemmagnitudiie ingenii llerigue 'tsun', 'rebus natura ct ?ro

acciliunt. iAs therefore physicians are many times forced- to leave fittest' such methods of inii"g as themselve-s know to be the ,!g patient's impatiencYt are fain to u"a U"i"g ou.rrol.d Ui t in lik^e sort, considering how- the case trv the best thev of "ut ijrrti,"*i";ilhitttit-pt"t.nt age, fuil of tongue -and weak to b;;i", behold *" *o.ira Qf ou7 subjut ?7-nlttea il) yietd to tt .ir"u* thereof- ThXt way *e would be contented " ;;;r; o;; thesis, which beittg ih" *ott" in itself, is_notwith5r;#ff;; bi reason of c6mmon imbecility the fitter and

likelierio be brooked,

the controIf this fear could be rationally entertained indiscipline of the then robust H"&"r, u"iri"i-"!" ""a"1 "r itr. t.noT"stic logic, par'donably may a writer of the present

iir"".

that can truths ""ticipate neither'b"

;;;.l"ty

"o**unicated out effort of thought, as well as patience of attention' "

Che s'io non erro al calcolar de' Punti'.

audience for abstrusest themes, and nor received with-

Par ch' Asinina Stella a noi predomrnr' E'l Somaro e'l Castron si sian congiunti' Il temPo d'Apuleio Piu non si nomini: Asi-lo' Cn" tl'uffota'un sol'huom sembrava un ruririieti"i * -i"i O rassembran huomini ! "

CHAPTER X
A ctrapter of digression and anecdotes, as an interlude preceding that th;i;;gination or Plastic-Power-On on the nature *""*.*"[;-f .xpressions-'dduice t o young. authors- respectp"a"itliv ttd pea "itic of the Aufhor'Jliterarv life' and i"e p;j;ir;iid-v;;il;;;;;;J"t"'

of tails. The first lesson of philosophic discipline is to wean the student's attention from the degrees of things, which alone form the vocabulary of common life, and to direct it to the kind abstracted from degree. Thus the chemical student is taught not to be startled at disquisitions on the heat in ice, or on latent and fixible light. fn such discourse the in-

caloric. To use the colloquial (and in truth somewhat vulgar) metaphor, if the pedant of the cloister, and the pedant of the lobby, both smell equally of the shop, yet the odour from the Russian binding of good old authenticlooking folios and quartos is less annoying than the steams from the tavern or bagnio. Nuy, though the pedantry of the scholar should betray a little ostentation, yet a wellconditioned mind would more easily, methinks, tolerate the fox brush of learned vanity, than the sans culotterie of a contemptuous ignorance, that assumes a merit from mutilation in the self-consoling sneer at the pompous incum[rance

and company. The language of the market would be in the schools as pedantic, though it might not be reprobated by that name, as the language of the schools in the market. The mere man of the world, who insists that no other terms but such as occur in common conversation should be employed in a scientific disquisition, and with no greater precision, is as truly a pedant as the man of letters, who either over-rating the acquirements of his auditors, or misled by his own familiarity with technical or scholastic terms, converses at the wine-table with his mind fixed on his museum or laboratory; even though the latter pedant instead of desiring his wife to make the tea should bid her add to the guant. suf. of thea Sinensis the oxyd of hydrogen saturated with

in the use of words unsuitable to the time,

*"i*ittt it et.e*tt.i.." N"ither have-I. I constructed it mvser from the creer. words, eis i[v r\d,trewr_to shape inlo ttuoi"g to convey a new sense' r thought that ;;;'t;;;., ; ;"; term would bittr aia the recollection of m-y.meaning, and prevent its U"ittg confounded with the usual import-of il; ;;]n--i-"gin"ti6n. " But this is pedantry !" Not

tt

EspupLASTIc. The word is not in Johnson' nor have I -

thE irogress

of his opinions in Religion and Politics'

structor has no other alternative than either to use old words with new meanings (the plan adopted by Darwin in his Zoonomia;) or to introduce new terms, after the example of Linneus, and the framers of the present chemical nomenclature. The latter mode is evidently preferable, were it only that the former demands a twofold exertion of thougbt in one and the same act. For the reader, or hearer, is required not only to learn and bear in mind the new definition; but to unlearn, and keep out of his view, the old and