316 



Mont ht/ Review of Literature^ 



[MARCH, 



something, which gives new cohesive powers 

 16 the solids of the body, and coagulable 

 oues to the fluids a something, which 

 changes the effects of chemical affinities, re- 

 taining some, contrary to their wonted ten- 

 dencies, in a state of equilibrium, and check- 

 ing in others the course of agencies destruc- 

 tive of that equilibrium a something, which 

 produces, in degrees corresponding less or 

 more apparently to the wants of the sys- 

 tem, an addition or deduction of caloric, <fcc. 

 <fec. What is this, or these ? The " prin- 

 ciple of life," replies the physiologist, with 

 all possible complacency. Just as if this 

 " principle of life" was something definable, 

 simple, specific something intelligible or 

 measurable the law of whose action was un- 

 derstoodand not, as it really is, a cover for 

 ignorance. The truth is, these are effects, 

 for which no physical cause can at present 

 be assigned, and in the room of which there- 

 lore no names should be substituted, but such 

 as are expressive of the want of knowledge. 

 Words are too often things and when we 

 hear the words " principle of life" from men 

 of science, in general, conscious of our own 

 ignorance, we conclude, in all humility, 

 they know what they are talking about, 

 though we do not, and really have discovered 

 something beyond the ken of ordinary mor- 

 tals. Between many of the effects, for the 

 cause of which the " principle of life" is as- 

 signed, as Dr. Roget very truly observes, 

 there exists not the remotest analogy, and 

 therefore it is unphilosophical ; that is, it is 

 idle to assign a common cause, particularly 

 when the cause we do assign is a mere phrase, 

 without a meaning. It is one thing to point 

 out the relation of means and ends, and quite 

 another that of causes and effects. These, 

 however, physiologists perpetually confound. 

 Such and such effects are manifestly condu- 

 cive to the welfare of the individual such or 

 such things are destined for such purposes ; 

 something directs them to their objects, and 

 that something is the cause. No, that is not 

 forthwith the cause it is not the cause phy- 

 siologically, and, till we know the cause in 

 that sense, the immediate physical cause, we 

 know nothing about the matter physiologi- 

 cally. 



This is the business of physiology. Here 

 is an effect. What is the immediate cause 

 of this effect ? So and so : and what is the 

 cause of that cause? and so on, till we are 

 able to determine what is life through all 

 the intermediate causes of action, from the 

 first movement to the final effect. 



We are in too much haste with our con- 

 clusions; it is passible there may be scores of 

 intermediate causes still traceable, and the 

 more of these we actually trace the more 

 we confine our views to immediate causes 

 the more enlarged will be the conquests of 

 the science of physiology. 



The French Genders taught in Six Fables ; 

 being a plain and easy sJrt of Memory, by 

 which the Genders of 16,548 French Nouns 



may be learned in a few hours; 1826. 

 The genders of French nouns, present a se- 

 rious difficulty to learners ; and in fact, not 

 one in fifty of foreigners, who speak the lan- 

 guage with tolerable fluency, ever get over 

 the embarrassments occasioned by the im- 

 practicability of bringing them within any 

 principle of association; and even with the 

 natives themselves, correctness in this respect 

 is one of the latest attainments. To facili- 

 tate is something. 



There are 15,548 nouns it seems; 8,415 

 of which are masculine, and 7,133 feminine. 

 Of the masculine, Mr. Goodluck has thrown 

 7,747, consisting of 115 different termina- 

 tions, into three classes ; and for each class 

 he has constructed a fable, embracing one 

 word of each termination assigned to that 

 class. Of many of these 1 15 terminations, 

 there are exceptions ; but the whale are enu- 

 merated in the notes. There still remain 

 704 refractory ones, of which a few are 

 classed in different ways; but the greater 

 part must be committed singly to memory. 



By way of specimen, we quote the first 

 four lines of the first masculine fable. 



Un tanglier, tier de son pouvoir, 

 Prenant \ejrais dans un bosquet, 

 Rencontra un beau soir 

 Par hazard un bidet. 



Here are five words in italics these are 

 masculine terminations. Now of nouns end- 

 ing in er there are 643 ; in oir, 144 ; in ais, 

 24; in et, 315 ; and in ard, 83 all mascu- 

 line, excepting only two in er, and one in et ; 

 so that the beginner, by learning these four 

 lines, and remembering the three exceptions, 

 will be in possession at once of the genders 

 of 1,199 nouns. The exceptions, Mr. Good- 

 luck suggests, might be formed into short 

 sentences, after Feinagle's manner. " For 

 instance, of the two exceptions in er," the 

 learner might say, " the man who attempts 

 to learn without method, is like one who tries 

 to empty the sea with a spoon vider la mer 

 avec un cuiller." The more absurd the 

 better. 



The same process is followed with the fe- 

 minines; of these 6,935 are brought within 

 the limits of three other fables, and the re- 

 maining 220 are left, of necessity, to shift for 

 themselves. A useful list follows of words, 

 masculine in one sense, and feminine in ano- 

 ther of which there seem to be about a 

 hundred. 



The author has done as much as appears 

 to be practicable. He himself is " convinced 

 that the genders may thus be rearnt in a 

 few hours, and learnt so as never to be for- 

 gotten." Luckily we are not bound to de- 

 cide by experiment. Let Mr. Goodluck be 

 content with the credit of facilitating, and 

 measure memories by an average standard. 



La Divina Commedia di DANTE Alighieri; 

 1827. This is a very neat little edition of 

 Dante, from the Chiswick press, published by 

 Arnold, of Tavistock -street. The whole is 



