of his funeral pile, pushed on until he joined his army in Guzerat; which he turned with burning vengeance against the Mogul's lands. wheresoever they were not appeased by money, or opposed by strong situations. Surat, as the most scornful defiance, Sevagi reserved to himself. A new wall was begun, but far from finished; and the inhabitants, to prevent his troops from entering the city, as well as to remove them from the manufacturing villages around, capitulated with him in his camp, for a ransom, which he did not raise to excess, as he intended to come again for more. The Rajah Jysing was again employed to oppose him, and, as before, with instructions to persuade his return to Delhi; to which Sevagi replied, that he did not think Aurengzebe such a fool, as to think him such a one, to trust himself a second time to the man who had once deceived him."

Erasmus Darwin.

BORN A. d. 1731.—died a. d. 1802.

ERASMUS DARWIN, an English physician, celebrated as a philosopher and poet, was born on the 12th of December, 1731, at Elston, or Elveston in Nottinghamshire, where his father, Robert Darwin, Esq. barrister, had a country seat. He was educated at Chesterfield under the care of the Rev. Mr Burrows. At this early period of life he is said to have exhibited more than usual talent; he excelled in classical learning and mechanics, though from an early acquired dislike to mathematics he never became a proficient in the physical sciences. It does not appear to be certain at which university he studied first; our biographer says that in 1753 he went to Edinburgh, and in two years after entered at St John's college, Cambridge, where he took the degree of Bachelor in medicine in 1755; another says that after graduating in Cambridge he went to pursue his studies in Edinburgh. Both may be correct. He wrote a thesis, when graduating in Cambridge, on the motion of the heart and arteries, as caused by the stimulating qualities of the blood. One of the earliest of his poems appeared on the occasion of the death of Frederick, prince of Wales; it will be found among the collection of verses which appeared on that occasion at Cambridge, but it does not display any extraordinary talent

In Nottingham, where he first commenced practice as a physician, he remained but a short time, having been unsuccessful; he removed therefore to Litchfield in 1756. He had not been long there, when a fortunate circumstance occurred, which gave him considerable celebrity. An eminent physician of the place, who had for a long time monopo lized the medical practice in Litchfield, had pronounced a young man, ill of a fever, to be beyond the power of medicine; when Darwin was consulted as a last resource. By a different plan of treatment from that proposed by his competitor, Darwin was successful in restoring the pa tient to health. His reputation was thus early established, and his prac tice increased rapidly, so that the other gentleman was obliged to depart from the field, when Darwin succeeded to all his practice. In 1757 he married his first wife. This lady, a Miss Howard of Litchfield, was at that time only eighteen years of age, and is spoken of in the most flatter

ing terms, as remarkable for strong understanding, refined taste, ingenuous sweetness, delicacy, and fortitude. Unfortunately, her health suffered much when she became a mother; but, by the utmost attention and the exercise of the highest skill on the part of her talented husband, she was enabled to live for thirteen years. Of five children only three lived beyond the period of infancy. One, an attorney at Derby, was possessed of respectable talents and excellent dispositions, but being of a melancholy temperament, he put an end to his existence at an early age. Charles was educated as a physician, and exhibited unusual talents, but died before he was twenty-one years of age. Robert became a physi cian at Shrewsbury, where he attained considerable eminence.

In 1778 Dr Darwin was employed in the family of Colonel Pole of Radburn in Derbyshire. During his intercourse with Mrs Pole, he had many opportunities of remarking in her that superiority of intellectual and moral qualifications, which induced him afterwards to solicit her hand. The death of Colonel Pole, in 1780, enabled him to do so, and he married her in 1781. From this union he experienced much happiness, and had several additions to his family. Very soon after this time, he left Litchfield and settled in Derby, where he soon was extensively engaged in practice.

From a very early period of life Dr Darwin had been accustomed to the writing of poetry, and many anonymous pieces of his appeared in the periodical publications of the day. It is dangerous, however, for a medical man to appear before the world as a poet, if he desires to succeed in the practice of his own profession; and therefore Darwin, warned by the examples of Akenside and Armstrong, refrained from the disclosure of his secret till his reputation as a medical man was somewhat established. His first acknowledged work was entitled the Botanic Garden; in one part of which he describes the economy of vegetation, in another the loves of the plants, illustrated with scientific notes. This appeared in 1791, the second part being published from motives of policy a short time before the other. The popularity of this work was at first considerable, but it was short-lived; its merits will be afterwards examined. On this work he had been engaged for a very long time previous to its publication.

In 1794 he published the first volume of his greatest work, entitled 'Zoonomia, or the laws of Organic life.' This volume was entirely theoretical, and contains a development of his metaphysical notions respecting the operations of the mind and body. The second volume, containing an application of these principles to the science and art of medicine, appeared in 1796. His subsequent works, which are of much less merit, are, an Essay on female education, published in 1795; 'Phytologia, or the Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening,' in 1800; and a posthumous poetical work, 'The Temple of Nature, or the Origin of Society.' While in Derby, he was one of those most active in the formation of a Philosophical society, of which he became president.

In 1801 he retired from practice, and went to spend the remainder of his life in an estate left to him by his son, called the Priory. But his health was now broken, and he did not live long to enjoy his retirement. He had been subject to inflammation in the lungs, and soon after his removal from Derby, he was taken ill of that disorder. By repeated bloodletting he obtained considerable relief, but on the 10th April, 1802, he

had a relapse from which he never recovered. It does not appear that the nature of his disorder was well-understood, but during his life it was believed to consist in inflammation of the lungs. He died on the 18th of the same month, in the 71st year of his age; when his body was examined, nothing could be found that satisfactorily explained the cause of his death. His family consisted at that time of a widow and six children.

The character of Dr Darwin as a man, as a physician, as a poet, and as a philosopher, deserves attentive consideration.

His

The personal appearance of Darwin was not prepossessing. form was rather unwieldy, and his movements were awkward, which, added to a defect in his speech, were serious impediments to his success as a medical man. But the qualities of his mind amply compensated for any bodily defects. Though the form of his countenance was far from agreeable, a kindness of disposition and a lively spirit imparted to it a power of pleasing even greater than that possessed by ordinary persons to whom nature had been more favourable in point of personal appearance. Though extremely benevolent and generally gentle in his manner, he was sometimes hasty and impatient of opposition. On such occasions he is said to have been by no means sparing of the lash of sarcasm, which his commanding talents rendered it easy for him to apply. He met occasionally with Dr Johnson when the latter visited Litchfield, but from some cause, which does not appear to be known, there existed no cordiality between them. He had a failing by no means uncommon to great minds, being rather fond of admiration, and far from insensible to flattery. Yet with the inconsistency which usually characterizes persons of such feelings, he was unsparing in his ridicule of all persons in whom he discovered the same propensities. He was inclined to be sceptical,-though the name of Deist, which has been applied to him, does not appear to be well-deserved. On the subject of his speculative opinions on religious matters, we are possessed of little information; he was connected with no church, but many parts of his works contain very exalted religious sentiments. He was at least a man of excellent moral character, and of a most benevolent disposition. As a physician, he was guided by that sound judgment, and originality of thought, which we find in many parts of his writings. He was an accurate and an attentive observer of nature, and he is known to have been in general eminently successful.

The early poetical works of Dr Darwin are not distinguished in any uncommon degree. The most successful of his works, the Botanic Garden,' was for a time excessively popular; but it has now fallen out of notice, and is perhaps rated even below its real value.' The subject is perhaps an unfortunate one,-for a poem on a philosophical subject can seldom be pleasing to the multitude, however much its beauties may appear to the few who can appreciate the philosophical value, without being unmindful of the poetical merits, of the piece. Allegorical descriptions of philosophical subjects must, to become and remain popular, be treated with great delicacy; if not peculiarly successful, there is but a step between it and the ridiculous; and while an approach to this may for a time remain unobserved from a connection with no

See Blackwood's Magazine, vol. v. p. 153,

velty of design and elegance of expression, the effect produced soon wears off, and the only lasting impression is that of disgust. However undeserving the work of Dr Darwin may be of such feelings, it cannot be denied that there are not many minds that will turn from a perusal of his Botanic Garden,' without at least a feeling of satiety. There is much elegance of diction and loftiness of expression, but these are too often supplanted by passages, the good taste of which is doubtful, and in which the bombastic takes the place of the lofty. The notes appended to this poem are often very good, and contain many shrewd observations on philosophy and natural history. The last poetical work of Dr Darwin never was popular, and is now almost forgotten, though but little inferior to the Botanic Garden.' It describes the production of life; the reproduction of life; the progress of mind, and of good and evil. It illustrates to a certain extent the metaphysical opinions advanced in the Zoonomia.' The originality of Dr Darwin's poetry has been doubted, though no proof has been given of his having stolen from any author. A philosophic poem by Henry Brooke, entitled 'Universal Beauty,' published in 1736,-and a Latin poem by De la Croix, entitled Connubia Florum,' are mentioned as the sources from which much of his imagery and the general plan of his 'Botanic Garden' may have been drawn ; but we have no reason to derogate from the merit of Darwin, such as it is, from all that has been said in proof of the connection of his work with these.

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The fame of Darwin rests with better reason on his greatest work, the Zoonomia.' This most ingenious work is now little read, yet it is so much deserving of being known, that we shall not scruple to spend a little time in stating the principles which are laid down in it. The subject of the work is, the laws of organic life, under which title we find a description of the operations of the intellect and of the living body in health and disease. The application of the above title to these leads us to expect a material theory; and though by some subtlety of reasoning this conclusion may perhaps be avoided, the general impression which a perusal of the work conveys, is certainly this, that Darwin was a materialist. The first principle of the theory of Darwin is, that all activities consist in motion. Motion," he says, "considered as a cause, precedes every effect; and considered as an effect, immediately succeeds every cause.' He makes a distinction between spirit and matter, the former commencing or producing motion, the latter receiving and communicating it. The motions of matter are those of gravitation, chemistry, and life. Of the motions of spirit he says nothing; but from his supposition that motion may be predicated of spirit as a cause or effect of material motion, it is obvious that his ideas of the distinction between spirit and matter are by no means welldefined. The avowed objects of his researches are the vital motions. By the term sensorium Darwin describes not only the immediate organ of sense, the source of nervous energy in the brain, but that principle to which our sensations are ultimately carried, and from which our volitions emanate. Our senses cannot recognise its existence, except through the medium of its effects, and it is therefore that principle which is in general called mind and principle of life. To this principle, however, he ascribes functions much more limited than those which metaphysicians in general are inclined to ascribe to it. The operations of

thought and association are situated in the organs of sense; the sensorium can only perceive, or be brought into a state of pleasure or pain, and it can will, or exist in a condition which is immediately followed by certain motions of the bodily organs. He conceives these condi

tions of perceiving and willing to be active, and to consist in what he denominates sensorial motions. All ideas, according to his theory, have a relation to objects of sense, both in their origin, and in our perceptions or comprehension of them. This principle is a correct one, though not recognised as such by all philosophers. It may not be improper to illustrate it a little here, as it is not very fully brought out in the work of Darwin. The mind is first brought into action by receiving certain impressions from external objects through the organs of sense, and to these objects and impressions alone, its feelings and judgments have for a time a direct reference. More lately abstract ideas are formed, and when these are analyzed, we find them to be merely generalizations of processes connected with external objects, or mere metaphorical descriptions of what we cannot comprehend, effected by means of terms drawn from conceptions of the qualities and processes of matter. Our idea of a spirit is only a negative one, it is not matter, its properties are not those of matter. Our idea of benevolence implies a conception of a train of circumstances connected solely with matter. Thus far an accurate fundamental principle may be drawn from the words of Darwin. But he ventures further than mere observation will carry him. He draws a parallel between the states of mind which arise from external impressions, and those which are produced by the internal operations of the mind itself. He considers that if it be admitted as proved that a certain state of motion is present in the act of sensation, the same must be present when the operation of the intellect has any reference to that sensation. Hence his definition of an idea,— "That notion of external things, with which our organs of sense originally make us acquainted,-a contraction, motion, or configuration of the fibres which constitute the immediate organ of sense." In this definition we observe some correct and some erroneous principles; though it must be acknowledged that the error is the more prominent feature. The term idea, is taken in a limited sense, and signifies that which we comprehend,-which is illustrated by the words with which a German author (Bartels, Pathog. Physiol.) commences his work,-"We can only form an idea of that which our understanding can bring within the limits of a description, and so, as it were, comprehend." Of an object thus comprehended we may be said to have an idea; in other words, we describe it in terms which our understanding can admit of. Our ideas are thus comprehended only in so far as they can be described in terms originally applied to material objects. This principle runs through the whole structure of language. In this sense our ideas have all a relation to external things, and may be said to be originally made known to us by our organs of sense. But for our notions drawn from matter we could never have had an idea of an immaterial substance, we conceive the absence of those qualities which are present in matter; further than this we can have neither idea nor conception of any qualities peculiar to immateriality, we can only imagine that such may exist. When we come therefore to the description of the activities of immaterial substances, we must restrict ourselves to the simple state