country; for nothing is more characteristic of the writings of this great man, than an entire abs: nce of all ostentation, and a certain air of simplicity, which is equally philosophical, pleasing, and instructive.

No man is better entitled than Mr. Stewart to speak with authority on the subject of English composition. He is, like all fine writers, a purist. Yet, instead of affecting that extreme nicety in the selection of words and phrases, for which some of the Scotch writers are remarkable, and which gives to their works the air of composition in a foreign language, we find him boldly and freely adopting the use of mixed metaphors; which he insists it is childish to reject, where custom has consecrated them, "merely on account of the inconsistencies which a philosophical analysis may point out between their primitive import and their popular acceptation." There is, perhaps, no part of composition, in which a finer tact is requisite, than in the use of expressions which involve an obvious incongruity, but which, for want of convenient substitutes, have been sanctioned by the authority of our best models. Nothing, certainly, is more discreditable to a man's understanding, than that illassorted and confused medley of ideas, with which the fancy is harassed in the more flowery passages of bad writers. Yet we entirely agree with Mr. Stewart, that there is an opposite pedantry, which has of late become very common, in affecting to write more correctly than Swift and Dryden and

we are persuaded, that a man might as well expect to ride gracefully by studying the equilibrium of forces, as to compose finely, merely by consulting the lights of etymology.

In the Essay on Mr. Tooke's Speculations, there is a good deal of delicate criticism on the true import of certain English words. We recollect only a single instance in which we differ from Mr. Stewart. The word interval, he insists, can only be correctly used with reference to time; surely it is not inaccurate to say, that at the battle of Belgrade, Eugene was nearly defeated from a considerable interval being left between the right wing and the

centre.

Our readers will probably be pleased to know something of the opinions which Mr. Stewart expresses of different writers. We think he indicates (as it was natural to expect,) a clear preference of Dr. Reid before all other metaphysicians. Berkeley's genius he admires; but he rejects his principal theory. Of Locke he speaks more coldly. He does not appear to estimate highly the metaphysical pretensions of Mr. Hume or of Mr. Horne Tooke; and Hartley, Priestley, and Darwin, are treated with very little respect. Among the French metaphysicians, De Gerando seems to be Mr. Stewart's favourite, and after him D'Alembert. Of the writings of Kant and his followers he professes to know little, and does not appear to think himself likely to obtain any new lights in the science of mind by knowing more.

Mr. Stewart invariably speaks of Lord Bacon with the most profound reverence. His praise of both Burke and Johnson is high, but by no means unqualified. The modern poets whom he quotes the most frequently, are Milton, Gray, Akenside, and the Abbé de Lille.

Those who are acquainted with Mr. Stewart's former writings will not need to be informed, that his style is remarkable for clearness, elegance, and comprehension. We think him, on the whole, the finest writer that Scotland has produced, and the first philosophical writer in the English language. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a style more admirably adapted to his subject than Mr. Stewart's. The present volume exhibits more instances of haste in its composition than his former metaphysical work; and its texture is more loose, both in the order of the arguments, and the structure of the sen

tences. ornate.

In the latter parts, too, it is rather more As a specimen of fine writing, it is perhaps less perfect; but we do not think it less elegant or less agreeable,

It would be an injustice to Mr. Stewart, as well as very little satisfactory to our feelings, were we to dismiss this volume without saying a few words on its religious and moral character. The subjects treated in it evidently do not allow of a frequent reference to such topics; but they are never avoided where the train of observation approaches to them, and never touched but with the reverence which is ustly their due. In the Essay on Sublimity, Mr.

Stewart introduces several quotations from the sacred writings as illustrations of his theory; and he frequently refers, in the language of unaffected veneration, to that awful Being, who is the centre of whatever is truly sublime and excellent. In the more metaphysical parts of his work, we find him strenuously combating, and even scornfully rejecting, the dangerous theories of the materialists, the artful insinuations of Mr. Tooke, and the plausible and licentious scepticism of Hume. Nor do we recollect to have met with a single passage in the whole volume, which can favour a dangerous illusion, or leave behind it an impression unfavourable to the best interests of virtue and religion.

On the whole, we lay down this volume with sentiments of the sincerest respect for the writer. It indicates, in every page, a mind studious of truth; unwearied in its pursuit; alive to simple, innocent, and rational gratifications; serene, cheerful, and candid; free from the vanity of authorship; and far more desirous to acquire and communicate knowledge, than to obtain a brilliant reputation. Indeed, Mr. Stewart's acknowledged superiority, may well excuse him from feeling much anxiety respecting his fame. Yet it is among the first praises that can be bestowed upon a writer, that he is uniformly more occupied with his subject than with himself. To this Mr. Stewart is unquestionably entitled. He is entitled also to a still higher eulogy; that, amid all the varied topics and multiplied opinions which he has touched, he evinces an unfailing anxiety to

discover and establish whatever is true and valuable, without ever indulging his fancy in starting ingenious theories, or wasting his powers upon shewy and unprofitable speculations. It is this simplicity of purpose which, beyond all other qualities, entitles him, in our estimation, to the character of a great writer; it is this (to use his own language) which properly belongs to and is alone consistent with "that unclouded reason, that unperverted sensibility, and that unconquerable candour. which mark a comprehensive, an upright, and an elevated mind."