History of Philosophy, 305 



almost every other point, unites with him in worshipping the might 

 and majesty of the divine essence, the efficient cause of all subordi- 

 mte causes, whose eye sees all, whose hand reaches all, and whose 

 lower rules all. 



The three principal branches of practical wisdom according to 

 iis nomenclature are ethics, policy, and economy. These three 

 >ranches, however, shoot from the same trunk, and are closely allied 

 o each other; for moral discipline renders each individual aserviee- 

 ible member of the society of which he forms a part, the restraints 

 )f civilization are instituted for the sake of ensuring the highest 

 legree of felicity to those who live within its pale, and private or 

 mblic economy contributes to the means of enjoyment of the indi- 

 vidual or the aggregate. Right is founded on equality : justice is 

 he exact observation of the rights of all : laws are the definitions of 

 die limits and boundaries of rights. The general good is the end of 

 policy (or, as we say, of government), and to attain that the rights of 

 each must be guarded faithfully, and the laws paramount. In treat- 

 ing on these subjects Aristotle especially displays the superiority of 

 his genius : his knowledge of mankind, of the world, and of history, 

 furnished him with abundant facts for his deductions, and he has 

 made such a use of his materials as proves him a master even among 

 skilful workmen. In his ethics he enumerates, defines, separates, 

 and classifies all human virtues. In his politics he determines the 

 three essential forms of government, the changes which they un- 

 dergo, and the combinations that may take place among them. 



We must here close our review of the Aristotelian philosophy, 

 which did not at first obtain in Greece all the celebrity it deserved, 

 [t was too solid, too sound, to be readily understood 'or felt by the 

 flighty imaginations of the Greeks, and the earlier followers of the 

 sage of the Lyceum seem to have been incapable of disseminating 

 his doctrines. We may, however, regret the loss of the writings of 

 Theophrastus and Eudemus, which were devoted to the explanation 

 of the obscurities which render the study of Aristotle so extremely 

 difficult. 



EPICURUS. 



Four schools springing out from the seed sown by Plato and 

 Aristotle, and which were nearly contemporaneous with each other, 

 now appear; namely, the Epicureans, the Sceptics, the Stoics, and the 

 New Platonists. We shall give a short account of the doctrine 

 promulgated by the founder of each, commencing with Epicurus. 



The common use of the word Epicurean to designate a persorv 

 devoted to the satisfaction of every sensual appetite, has given rise 

 to mistaken notions respecting the character and opinions of this 

 philosopher, whose life was as free from imputations of immorality 

 and sensuality as that of any of the most virtuous men of his time. 

 The pursuit he followed was that of happiness, not of pleasure in its 

 more ordinary signification, and we shall presently see the means 

 by which he hoped to arrive at his end. 



The doctrines of Plato and Aristotle were not adapted for vulgar 

 m inds. Common sense and ordinary abilities were not a sufficient 

 p r eparation to master the difficulties. The one required an aptitude 



MARCH, 1837. X 



