natural to man; for, had it been, man never would have progressed beyond it. The fact that he is not savage and ferocious; that these feelings yield to the influence of the principle of progress, and that the milder and more benevolent principles of humanity are unfolded and strengthened in proportion to that progress, is conclusive to our mind, that the natural state of man is civilization.

Our author, after having investigated the capacity of man for improvement and discussed the question whether barbarism or civilization is the natural state of man, concludes his introduction in the following language:

"It follows, then, that the capacity of becoming civilized belongs to the whole human race,—that civilization is natural to man,—that barbarism is not a state of nature,' and that there is no primâ facie evidence for assuming it to be the original condition of man."

After presenting in contrast the characteristics and tendencies of barbarism and civilization in chapter 2d, and the social characteristics and tendencies of barbarism and civilization in chapter 3d, Dr. Taylor proceeds to the investigation of that most difficult of all subjects, which has ever engaged the attention of man, viz., property. If we understand the Doctor aright, he bases the right of property upon the fact of appropriation. I pluck fruit from a tree in the forest where no human being lives,-whose is the fruit? it is mine, because I appropriated it to myself, and no one has a right to disturb me in the possession of it. On page 78, vol. i., we meet with this remarkable passage, embodying much sound thought and practical reflection:

"The State is a society founded upon the relation of right. We have next to inquire what is right? We have seen, that man is a moral being, that is, a free agent, and yet, that he is bound to live in society, which, of necessity, must limit his freedom of action. For, as all his fellows have the same claims, it is necessarily a condition of society, a law of its existence, that the use of freedom by one, should not contravene the enjoyment and liberty of another. Man does not create the relation of right; it comes into existence at the same instant with society; the upholding and enforcing that right is the object of society, constituted as a State."

This quotation is in harmony with the principles above laid down; for, were not the appropriation of an object to individual use, to constitute the object thus appropriated,

property, and thus make it sacred and inviolable, there would be no end to the disputes and contentions which would spring up from the conflicting claims of individuals. From the necessity of the case, there must be some ultimate truth, on which the right to property must rest, and in the correctness of which society must agree. Though an investigation of this character may not settle these rights more securely than they now are, yet, it is gratifying to know, that although there are many who would disturb the relations in society established by the right to property, these rights, thus settled and acted upon, are sustained by sound reasoning, and the strong common sense of mankind. Those, who would destroy the rights of private property, disturb the institution of marriage, and desecrate religion, would sap the very foundations of society, and introduce scenes of disorder, confusion and disorganization, which would make the hearts of the most reckless quail before the great evil introduced. The subject of the 4th chapter is property, on which we have made the remarks we designed.

The

In chapter 5th, personal security is treated of. author controverts the common saying which is, by some, used as a maxim, viz:

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Every man coming into society, abandons a portion of his natural rights, to protect the remainder.”

He says:

"No man ever did any such thing: the State exists, not to absorb individuality, but to enable each individual to obtain the true ends of his existence. It takes away no natural right; it only requires, that each right should be advantageously exercised. It does not necessarily deprive a man of freedom: it only prevents each from injuring the other."

Were the common saying, above quoted, true, the doctrine of a social compact would be established. Upon the principle of the existence of a social compact, it would be difficult to sustain the legitimacy of governments, owing to their great variety and difference; for all governments depend for stability, and for their proper foundation, upon the acquiescence of the governed. If government had its origin in what is technically termed "the social compact," which was entered into no one knows when, or by

whom, the provisions of which exist only in the minds of theorists, we come to the conclusion, and think it is the only legitimate deduction to be drawn from the premises, that there can, and properly ought to exist, only one form of government, and that form ought to be consonant to the principles of the grand social compact. But where are these principles to be found? when were they embodied, and by whom? by what sanctions are they to be enforced? and if there be rebellions against the power of the State, what right is there to punish? If it should be replied, that all these principles are deeply seated in our moral and intellectual nature, and demand, that, for the preservation of good order, they should be enforced, we concede the argument for the very principles are embraced in it, for which we contend. The wants of man, as a social and moral being, show the necessity for the existence and establishment of government. Hence, all the arguments ever urged in support of the existence of the idea or theory of a social compact, are proved to be fallacious; that is, to have no existence in fact.

We believe that all the powers of government in which the greatest degree of liberty is enjoyed, are derived from the consent of the governed, either express or implied. This leads to the incorporation in government of the right of universal suffrage, the giving to every man an abiding interest in the affairs of the government under which he lives, and which acts upon his person, his rights, his all, in the form of law. To it, he looks for protection, and by its sanctions, operating through the laws, he is punished for the violation of the rights of others, and is, at the same time, protected in the enjoyment of his own rights. Here is a weight of responsibility which presses upon the government of every State in this Confederacy, and upon the Confederacy itself.

We live under institutions which approach nearer to what the social compact is imagined to be, than any of which we have any knowledge, either from history or tradition. But the government, with all its sovereign States, must depend, for its perpetuity and existence, on the intelligence and virtue of the people. No stronger safe-guard can exist, than knowledge. Its work is silent, it progresses slowly; for the enlightening of the mind is gradual, but

sure and powerful. The crowned heads of Europe perceive, that the spirit of the age is, to move onward, and they have laid aside the austerity of ranks: they are educating the mass of the people, diffusing knowledge, and making its blessings accessible to all. Some even do more than this; the children are compelled by law to go to the schools of learning. Truly the schoolmaster is abroad, and is exerting an influence, and producing effects on mind, compared with which the proudest glories of the potentate sink to insignificance. Peruse the rest of the first volume of this work, and see what man has had to struggle through,-the disadvantages he has encountered, the obstacles he has surmounted, all the disheartening toils which were in his way, before he reached the elevation on which he now stands; and the paramount necessity of educating and training the great mass of humanity, to a proper conception of their rights, and their duties, will be presented with overpowering force. We would impress upon our renders the obligations imposed on all, by the responsibility under which they act, to contribute whatever can be done, to the enlightenment of the human mind.

Our author, in the course of his investigations, has treated of the civilization and improvement of the different nations of antiquity, in that chronological order, in which they attract the attention of the student of history, and under the title of each nation, states what were the principles of government, of progress in the arts and sciences, of the political and domestic relations of each, and has embodied a great variety of rare and interesting facts. Had he accomplished nothing more than this, his work would be useful to him who is desirous of tracing the progress of civilization; because the truth is incontrovertibly established by the fact, that man is a progressive being, and at the same time, improves for the better. There are, doubtless, vices which exist in contact with civilization, which are not found where barbarism and savage ferocity alone prevail; but, in the former, virtues exist, which have no abiding place in the latter. We do not, by any means, admit that these vices are the necessary result or effect of civilization; they may be a modification of savage vices, which prevail in grosser form, but are presented under a milder aspect by the influence of civilization. Take avarice as an example. The savage,

under the impulse of the feeling in the civilized man, which would prompt him to strive to amass wealth, would commit crimes, at which humanity would recoil. Under the promptings of revenge, the savage will pursue his enemy over mountains, and across trackless regions, till that feeling is glutted by the blood of his foe. Not so with the civilized man: he may do his enemy an injury, but the infliction of that injury is not approved even in the present artificial state of civilized society. We must also remember, that many vices are exposed, because they are observed, which the savage does not notice at all; and that the catalogue of crime is swelled by the vigilance of the police, whereas this is not the case among savages. Due allowance is not made for all these circumstances; and, though many may speak in praise of the virtues of savage life, yet, none, we think, would be willing to exchange the comforts of civilization, for all the glories and pleasures and happiness enjoyed, or to be enjoyed, among rude barbarians. Each condition, apparently, in a state of barbarism, has its advantages; yet, there is a yearning in man, irrepressible, and urging him forward to something higher than he has yet attained.

If we examine into the characteristics of the civilization of the nations of antiquity, we discover that the traits of the civilization of each, depend more, perhaps, upon the existence and constitution of the sacerdotal order, than any other fact in its history. In Egypt, the seclusion of the priesthood from the mass of the people, the veneration in which they were held, and the power they exercised, all exerted a strong influence in moulding the features of the civilization of that country. The fertility of the valley of the Nile led to the introduction of the arts of husbandry at an early period in the history of the race. The very forms of their religious ceremonies were well adapted to impress upon the minds of the people the sacredness of the priest, and thus invested him with a strong influence over the destiny of the civilization of Egypt. Hence, the seclusion which characterised the people, and the little influence which they have directly exerted over mankind.

The influence of Babylon and Assyria upon the civilization of man, has been considerable. The main feature of these governments was that of absolute power in the mon