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than a divine, was a departure from the method common in his day. In this respect, future controversialists are more likely to follow his example, than that of his contemporaries.

A foreigner has remarked, that the clergy in this country have shown great skill in adapting themselves to the opinions and institutions of the people among whom they are placed ; that they have studied conformity to the democratic instincts of the population, and thus have preserved their influence, by sacrificing a portion of their consistency. He forgot to remark, that the clergy are themselves a part of the people, and that their sentiments are moulded by the same general causes, which direct the formation of public opinion. It is no impeachment of their sincerity, therefore, to say that the remark is well founded. Among a people, who are so much engaged in the pursuit of wealth, and so successful in its attainment, a religious doctrine, which should entirely proscribe any attachment to worldly goods, would find but few adherents. A compromise is effected, therefore, between the temporal and spiritual interests of men, and the love of gain is tacitly sanctioned, when it does not directly interfere with religious practice. Self-denying principles in this respect are seldom inculcated. The consequence is, that religion is made wholly an affair of the inner life, a matter of abstract faith, and outward manifestations of it are somewhat neglected, while great importance is attached to purity of doctrine.

This state of things naturally leads to a low estimate of the forms and external rites of Christianity, and such a tendency is increased by the strong desire, which a republican nation always entertains,

for simplicity and frugality in its political administration. In matters both of religion and government, we are unwilling to submit to the burden of shows and ceremonies. We attribute but little importance to the details of worship. It is said, that even the Catholic priests of this country attach themselves rather to the spirit, than the letter of their church precepts, and allow the invocation of saints, and other special forms and means of worship, to be quietly laid aside. They content themselves with a recognition of the abstract principle, on which these rites are founded, and allow the practice of them in some measure to be forgotten. A religious temperament, therefore, finding few opportunities of expressing itself in acts of outward worship, tends to create an abstract and contemplative frame of mind, and leads to an ideal life. Theological writings gradually adapt themselves to this musing disposition, and speculative dogmas form its appropriate aliment.

In these rather desultory remarks, I have endeavored to point out some peculiarities in the character and situation of our countrymen, which seem to favor the growth of a native school of speculative philosophy. Some of them may appear of small importance, but their general tendency cannot be mistaken, even if they produce as yet no visible effect. The consequence may appear more likely to follow, if we consider the fact, that in each of the respects above mentioned, the situation of the people here is the very opposite of that of our brethren in England, among whom, at the present day, metaphysical science is confessedly at a lower ebb, than either in France or Germany. Dugald Stewart has ended his long and honorable career, in which,

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though he made the science respectable and popular by the weight and amiability of his character, and the elegance of his style, he did not materially contribute to its progress. His successor at Edinburgh appears to be more occupied with poetry and politics, than with the duties of his office, as professor of philosophy. His colleague, Sir William Hamilton, the accomplished professor of logic, has shown so much learning and acuteness in treating metaphysical questions, as to make the public regret, that he has published nothing but a few articles, written with great ability, in the Edinburgh Review. At present, he appears to be the sole representative of the English school of philosophy. We may have greater hopes of the cause of mental science in this country, from the absence of those peculiar circumstances, which appear at present to obstruct its progress in England.

It is natural to look with curiosity and interest on those influences, which, operating on the birth of American philosophy, may serve to determine its whole future character and tendency. It is remarkable, that the authors most studied among us at present do not belong to the English school, but to the French and German, and that the general features of their speculations offer the strongest contrast to those traits, which have always distinguished the writers on the same subject in our mother country. It is not going too far to say, that Locke, Clarke, Berkeley, and Reid are not so much talked about in this country, as Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Cousin. The reason probably is, that the only living writers of much note are of the continental school, and their works naturally first attract attention at the com

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mencement of our inquiries. They have written largely, also, on the character and influence of the labors of their predecessors, and their opinions and judgments are rather hastily adopted, before an opportunity is gained for individual examination. The very partial and incorrect views, for instance, which many persons entertain of Locke's philosophy, can be explained only on the supposition, that Cousin's Criticism of the Essay on Human Understanding is much more studied than the Essay itself. In no other way can I account for the prevalence of the opinion, that Cousin's work is a masterpiece of philosophical criticism, when, - whatever may be its merits in refuting certain obnoxious doctrines, that are stated in it, —- these doctrines are quite gratuitously ascribed to Locke, with reference to whom, indeed, the whole work is but a tissue of misrepresentations. So also the belief, that Kant's philosophy is a refutation of skepticism, must rest on the assertion of some of his countrymen, among whom there exists a very different rule and estimate of what constitutes skepticism, from that which obtains in this country and in England. Instead of confuting his predecessor, Kant simply established Hume's doctrine on a different basis, and then carried out its principles and modes of reasoning, till they covered the whole field of knowledge, and this work he

; performed with such an appearance of method, completeness, and close deduction, as to change what was merely a philosophy of doubt and uncertainty, into a theory, which may be called the dogmatism of unbelief.

Most of the following Essays were written in the hope of throwing some light on the character and

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tendency of a few of those foreign systems of philosophy, which have recently become popular among

My object was to consider each of them as a whole, and in its probable operation on the course of thought in this country. Partial and fragmentary views of their doctrines are common enough; but there are great obstacles in the way of forming full and correct notions of their nature and bearing. They are of great compass, and exist in many distinct works; they are wrapped in the darkness of a foreign language ; and many of them are further veiled in an obscure, intricate, and repulsive terminology. The few translations, that have appeared, are not executed with much skill, and contain, at the most, but the mere fragment of a theory. Before their probable influence can be estimated, it is necessary to have some connected sketch of them as a whole, though the sketch be necessarily a very imperfect one. It is important, also, to consider them in the relations which they bear to other systems, to ascertain their points of departure from doctrines formerly received, and thereby to know whether they will probably aid or obstruct the progress of philosophy. This general design I have kept in view, even in those Essays, like the two on the argument for the Divine Existence, which may appear from their title, to relate to a wholly different subject. The influence of the study of foreign philosophy may now be perceived in the mode of thinking and reasoning, which many persons have adopted, on topics that have only a remote connexion with metaphysical science.

It may appear to some, that the writer entertains a strong prejudice in favor of the metaphysicians of

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