University of Virginia Library

Aristotle, the famous father of this branch of philosophy, or, as others call it, pneumatology, seems to have intended by his metaphysics, a speoies of natural theology: yet, as in all cases of an abstruse nature, the several votaries of this science, have, in some measure, varied in their ideas on the subject, for instance, Locke, in England, and Malebranche, in France, racked their brains on this theme, and although much more perspicuous than the ancients, are frequently so intricate in their reasonings, as to send common sense a wool gathering; so that, speaking of these philosophers, we may well exclaim with the Roman, they are but “deliramenta doctrinæ:” or, to quote a sentence used by Mr. Locke, when he considers the association of ideas, “I conceive that such deep men of the schools only give sense to jargon, demonstration to absurdities, and consistency to nonsense; and have proved the foundation of the greatest, I had almost said, of all the errors in the world.”

This very acute metaphysician and logician, surnamed Doctor Subtilis, most assuredly may claim the wreath of most consummate folly: for, what with speculative ideas, such as the poet has instanced in the third and fourth lines of the above stanza, which allude to corpuscular philosophy, together with the jargon of the schools, he may well be said arenearum telas texere, while he intended to display the art of reasoning justly. Yet, soft, why do I dare presume to rail against this renowned character, whose oratory outvied the powers of the famed Orpheus, by giving animation even to stone, without instrnmental assistance: for we are very gravely informed, that, while Duns Scotus was haranguing the learned doctors of the day, on the subject of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, he pointed to the stone effigy of the mother of our Saviour, placed in the church of Notre Dame, at Paris, upon which, in token of assent to the position of the speaker, the image very reverently bent its body, and is stated to have ever after continued in that curbed attitude. Another voluminous writer of later date, known by the name of Dr. Manton, produced in this country a thick folio volume of commentaries on the 119th psalm; to the reading of which the famous Lord Bolingbroke attributes all his scepticism on religious subjects: and, indeed, the production of the above doctor forcibly brings to mind these lines of Butler:

Dean Swift, in speaking of the folly of fast days, has been equally sarcastic in these lines:

In Erasmus's Praise of Folly, the reader may find the most severe sarcasms on these subtle fools, whom the author exposes to the lash of the most pointed ridicule; nor will Voltaire be found less acute in his remarks; who, upon all occasions, took delight in exposing the fallacy of such conceited pedants, whose sole aim seems to have consisted in bewildering their own and other people's understandings. The doctors of the Sorbonne, at Paris, who were esteemed the most acute theologians, are very justly ridiculed by Voltaire, in the following lines:

The most fallacious opinions have been cherished by numerous individuals of late, whose tenets not only proved destructive of religion and morality in France, but have equally been disseminated on this side of the Channel, to the detriment of a great portion of society: and certainly the observation of Seneca may be justly applied to all these scourges of reason and common sense, who says, “Distrahit animum librorum multitudo.” By the bye, I had nearly forgotten my foolish friend Goropius Becanus, who took an infinity of pains to prove that High Dutch was the language which Adam and Eve spoke in Paradise.

In allusion to the Stoics, who were the followers of Zeno, and maintained that pain is no real evil; that a wise man is happy, even in the midst of torture, &c. ideas, that bring to mind the words of Seneca, who says, “The more subtle things are rendered, the nearer they approximate to nothing.” And certainly, all such definition of things by acts bears the closer affinity to nonsense. Aristophanes, in his Comedy of the Clouds, very characteristically introduces Socrates and Chærephon, as taking an admeasurement of the leap of a flea from the beard of the one to that of the other.

This is assuredly a healing plaister, and might do very well, if, unfortunately, conscience had not, some how or other, been made a tenant of the human breast, whose cries will be heard, notwithstanding the jargon of such philosophers, I would say, fools! Meglio vale esser dotto che dottore.

If the annotator was to enter upon this topic, a simple note would be swelled into a thick volume: so numerous has been this race of defilers of paper. It is, however, sufficient to say, that their ponderous folies may be found at the cheesemongers': “Yea, even unto the present day.”

Whether the Supreme Author of all things be denominated God, or Nature, or Chance, is, to my mind, a matter of little consequence, so that his existence be but granted in its full extent; for a mere word cannot alter the attributes of divinity. Such, however, is not exactly the case: for there are men who talk of chance, under a different impression, though they are incapable of comprehending it; which, after all, brings the matter to one point; and the dispute at last is merely whether we should say shoes of leather, or leathern shoes.