110 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
On the Grapation of Universal BEING. 
) (99° Continuedifrom ps 30.) 
“9 F we Carefully examine the question, 
‘In’ what is man superior to ‘other 
animals ?—we shall find, that his supe- 
riority rests on these attributes alone: 
1 Mind, with all its various intuitive 
powers; and, 2. The happy conscious- 
ness of ‘a future state:—for, in the dif- 
ferent senses of hearing, seeing, smell- 
ing, tasting and. touching, he is equalled, 
and, indeed, surpassed, by many. 
«< What is most ‘excellent in man?” asks 
Seneca—‘“ Reason. In this he surpasses 
the irrational creation, and imitates the 
Deity. Perfect reason is, therefore, the 
peculiar attribute of man; other qualities - 
he possesseth in common with other ani-— 
mals. Is he strong?—so are lions. Is he 
Beautiful.2—so are peacocks. Is he swift?— 
so are horses. I do not say (he continues), 
that in all these things he may be excelled, 
nor do I ask in what he most surpasseth,— 
but what is his exclusive and peculiar qua- 
lification. Hath he a body?—so have trees. 
Hath he force and voluntary motion?— 
Beasts and reptiles have the same. Hath 
he a voice ?—By how much louder is the 
@og’s—more shrill the eagle’s—more sono- 
rous the bull’s—more melodious and flexible 
the nightingale’s! What peculiarity, then, 
is there in Mar. ?—ReEason.””* 
Mind, then, being the distinguishing 
characteristic of man, let us endeavour 
to analyze its properties, and define, 
if possible, its various and ‘excursive 
powers. ae 
“The great leading faculties of the mind,” 
says a pleasing writer, whose definition we 
adopt, as being both jprecise and compre- 
hensive, ‘“ may be thus simply pour- 
trayed: — Je A geet 
® Reason—the faculty of ‘distinguishing 
between good and evil—of calculating 
future consequences—and of discerning the 
fitness of things. 
* Seneca, Epist. 76.—There is, however, 
another prominent peculiarity in man, and 
this is, his capability of dwelling, it is be- 
lieved, in every part of the globe. This 
truth, which seems to prove, in the strongest 
manner, man’s right to universal dominion, 
did not escape the notice of the splendid 
Historian of Rome, who has’ observed, that 
“the Romans ‘made war in all climates, 
and, by ‘their excellent discipline, were, in 
“great “measure, preserved in health and 
vigour. It may be remarked,” he con- 
tinues, “that man is the only animal which 
-can-_live in eveny. country, from the equator. to 
thepoles. "The hog seems to approach the 
nearest to our species in that privilege.’*— 
“Gibbon's"Deeline Mand /Fall; vol. i, 349, 
note. 
Gradation of Universal Being. 
(Sept. 1, 
“ Perception—by which ideas, and the 
knowledge of things, or of separate exist- 
ences, are recelyed through the medium of 
the senses. onldee 6d Hie ea 
“Memory —by which the impressions 
already received are retained in the mind. 
_ “ Association—Dy which the impressions 
and images received are connected together, 
and called into action. ‘sary cat 
“ Judgment, or the power of comparing, 
weighing and determining between con- 
trarieties. ie ,S19i 4 
“ Tmagination—the last and) noblest and 
mightiest quality of the mind; that: which, 
more than all the others, stamps) divinity 
on the character of man; and that, which 
tnore peculiarly distinguishes him from 
‘the brutes that perish,’ and even from 
inferiors among his own species. It is 
creative and unlimited ;—it comprehends 
the past, the present, and that whieh is to 
come ;—it extends the power of vision 
beyond the narrow limits of this globe; even 
to the very confines of the invisit{e uni- 
verse ;—and not only does it dare to look 
into the profundity of immeasurable space, 
but will oftentimes glance, with ardent eye, 
into the regions of eternal light and immor- 
tal glory! It is the only faculty which can 
neyer be fully satisfied, or employed in this 
state of existence: because it is not only 
able to comprehend all the existences which 
are rendered apparent and tangible to the 
external senses, but it cam even conceive 
and create new combinations of images— 
« And give to airy nothing 
A local habitation and a name!’” 
To these qualities may be added 
another, namely, that of Volition, or 
Will; which, however, can scarcely be 
considered a distinct faculty,—as it ap- 
pears—to use the words of the author 
whose definition we have just used—the 
presiding, directing and regulating power 
of the mind, which, though not able 
actually to prevent the admission of 
ideas and impressions, can determine 
and regulate the attention towards.them 
when received,—suppressing it towards 
those that are painful, and continuing it 
towards those that are agreeable. This, 
it must be allowed, is a yery judicious 
discrimination, and our author’s argu- 
ment in ‘its fayour is eloquent and. per- 
suasive. 
‘“‘ Tf there were no presiding powerin the 
mind,” he writes—“‘to what a state,ef con- 
fusion and chaos would it.he reduced! 
Being neither able to. resist. the, admission 
of ideas, or to arrange them when admitted, 
it would be in astate of natural and terrible 
insanity.* Myriads of idéal and‘ineoigri- 
loon? to 2gus 
* « An excessive acuteness of oné dente,” 
says’ a Jearned “physidlogist)" Wile “the 
others remained in the natural degree, 
would 
