“318 Philosophy teaching by Examples. —(Oer- 
writers of" novels, °sentimental, amorous, and!/) religious, who,;have 
éndeavouredto. make°their imaginations: subservient: to,the propagation. 
of sotind’ morals, "by ‘depicting at full length the odious and |the absurd. 
But'the Lovelaces, the ‘infidel fathers, andthe De Valmonts, like; certain 
aiiatoniical printsy have more nerves and arteries than are to,be fouad 
inthe living’ subject; and while they are thus overcharged in some,par- 
tiedlars) are lamentably deficient in the truths of nature as. te, othexs. 
Jnvention never yet reached the sublime of real lite, nor could.imagina- 
tion éver venture upon such exquisite touches of vice and absurdity 
lathe passions themselves can alone develope. . To be convinced ,of this 
truth, we need but compare the nouvelle Héloise with the confessions 
‘of its author, and decide whether the latter, if they had been amalga- 
mated with the former, and given forth as fictions, would not, have been 
universally decried and run down as false, improbable, and ridiculous. 
 Quodcunque ostendis mihi sic incredulus odi.”—No, gentle, reader, there 
is ‘nothing like auto-biography for showing up “ the dignity of; human. 
nature,” and demonstrating the true dimensions of the heart of man. 
“Among the most successful efforts in this new mode of teaching must 
be placed the dramatizing of Tom and Jerry, which may be considered as 
‘the first public course of lectures given on this branch of philosophy. 
‘The spectacle of Tom and Jerry was to the mind, what the new system 
‘of gymnastics is to the body ; and it was admirably calculated to puta 
novice on the footing of an old stager, or in the terms of the.art to. make 
him“ fly.” ‘The annals of the police-office afford abundant proof of the 
‘geal and industry with which the pupils of this school. repeated, the 
experiments on life exhibited by the professors, and like king, Solomon, 
satisfied themselves by “ 7'autopsie” that all is vanity, and \vexation, of 
‘spirit. It is in the same laudable spirit of instruction, that numerous. 
‘writers have crammed their novels, reviews, and: articles for, all.sorts| of 
journals, with real personages and real anecdotes; the. whole illustrated 
by “a key,” that no’one may doubt the genuineness of the experiment : 
and it is therefore much to be lamented that the author/of ‘“ Vivian 
Grey,” and he of the «“ Sayings and Doings,” should have brought, this 
‘species: of composition into disrepute, by getting themselves a character 
‘for personality on false pretences ; by affecting to be severe when they 
aré only silly, and shaking their head when “ there is nothing in. it.” 
We cannot therefore do less than warn the young and the innocent from 
looking to such false teachers for sound views, and refer them toa much 
more authentic source of information in the reports of our criminal and 
civil’ courts, in which the most ticklish combinations of society, the 
most striking situations in life, are exposed to the public gaze, without 
even a fig-leaf to hide out the naked truth. What a course, of moral 
anatomy was the entire history of Thurtell and his associates !|_ What in- 
structive gossipry filled the journals concerning the execution of Faunt-. 
Yeroy!) What lessons on conjugal and: cher-amz-icaJ duties!., What 
illustrations of Pope’s doctrine:of the nearness of loye and _ religion. in 
the human heart! ! eilk 
“Where mixed with God’s thy loved idea lies.” —Epistle to Abelard. - 
The superior utility of « philosophy teaching by examples,” as con- 
trasted with the dogmatic system of sermons and treatises, must by this 
time have become pretty evident to the reader. To a judicious and dis- 
criminating public a word will suffice ; but one immediate and most im-~ 
