PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 237 



tion in the former and that in the latter, is, that in the first the 

 penalty or reward is imposed while it is not necessary to publish 

 the cause of the enactment, and that in the latter it was only neces- 

 sary to state the cause of the enactment, viz. the good or evil 

 tendency of the works judged. The canons published by the 

 professors of these arts of artificial government would be rules of 

 arts, as of brick making, poetry, painting, &c. &c. In order that 

 these professors should apply praise or contempt to certain works 

 there is need of judgments being formed respecting them, but as 

 there has not been in this case, as in the judgment under the civil 

 government, the same stake — punishment not following condemnation 

 with the same certainty — the application of the judicial art (such as 

 it had been described by the lecturer) is seldom adhered to and its 

 applicability is hardly known. 



Now it must be observed that it is only the art of artificial go- 

 vernment which makes the professors of the different arts professors 

 of the art of law ; this will be better understood by observing that 

 the art of government is the invention of rules for regulating the 

 actions and works of men, and that tts means are physical and 

 moral — all arts of government that employ physical means have 

 been called civil ; and these means, however used, become condi- 

 tions of existence to all members of the society in which they are 

 practised, and they become subject to the laws enacted under them. 

 The other governing means have been called moral, and the arts 

 employing them artificial ; the moral means are instruction and the 

 exciting of praise or contempt, which two latter are effected by 

 showing the benefit or injury which the judged works or acts may 

 do to society. The sanction then of the laws enacted under these 

 arts of government depends on the accuracy with, which such benefit 

 or injury is investigated. 



By substituting the general term law for the specific term " civil 

 law,'^ in the rules of the art of jurisprudence, we have the rules of 

 the art of criticism ; understanding by the word law the rule of the 

 particular art to which the act or work to be judged is referable. 



November 21st. — The Rev. S. Rowe read his second lecture on 

 the means of improving the English language. He began by point- 

 ing out the necessity for an acquaintance with its history, for 

 conducting inquiries as to its origin and construction, and illustrated 

 his position by showing how much light a single word frequently 

 threw upon the most important branches of philology. He adverted 

 to the collateral advantages to be derived from philological studies 



