COUSIN, VICTOR. 



il consideration <>r what 1ms been done in 

 this matter l.y other nations : 



I. 'I'liat cotton-growing in the Southern 

 Stairs, ifiintaxcd, can !>. conducted profitably 

 and successfully, as against all competition 



here. 



j. That if burdened by a tax sufficient to bo 

 worth to jho treasury the cost of its collection, 

 it cannot at present, it' over, bo successfully 



prosecuted. 



That, already familiar to our people, in all 

 its details, it is the only industry immediately 

 available and practicable to the great body of 

 the laboring population of the South for the 

 profitable employment of surplus labor, tbat is, 

 beyond the neco-iiies of crops for subsistence, 

 in the production of something salable and ex- 

 changeable, whereby wealtb can be regained; 

 and 



"4. That the importance of a large production 

 of cotton, ns the chief export of the country, 

 in adjusting balances of trade and excbanges, 

 and especially in its bearing upon the future 

 position of the public debt, so largely held and 

 to be field abroad, cannot well be overstated ; 

 ;'tid >o far transcends the value of the present 

 tax. that to preserve the latter at the cost of 

 lo-ing the former would bo a ' ha'penny worth 

 sdom to a pound of folly.' " 



The committee of the commissioners to the 

 Paris Exposition have collected and arranged, 

 in an appropriate series, samples of cotton from 

 all the cotton-growing districts of the world, 

 and offered them to the Government for pres- 

 ervation in one of the public offices. 



COUSIN", VICTOR, a distinguished Frencb 

 metaphysician, the founder of the Eclectic 

 School of Philosophy, born in Paris, November 

 28, 1702 ; died in Cannes, France, January 14, 

 1807. His father was a watchmaker in Paris, 

 but a man of thoughtful and philosophic turn 

 of mind, and a great admirer of J. J. Konsseau. 

 His early education was received in the com- 

 monest schools; but these awakened powers 

 of such \mcommon brilliancy that his parents 

 placed him in a higher order of seminaries, 

 where he won the highest honors. Seeking a 

 position as public instructor, in 1812 he was 

 appointed professor in the Normal school, of 

 which subsequently ho became principal. His 

 philosophical aptitudes and attainments soon 

 attracted attention, and in 1815 he was placed 

 in the professorial chair in the Sorbonne, for 

 years performing the double duties of these 

 two important posts with eminent success. In 

 the philosopher's chair he shone with unequalled 

 lustre. His lectures completely fascinated 

 the young men, who came in crowds to hear 

 him. His popularity among the earnest, in- 

 quiring, ardent minds of the university was un- 

 bounded. He spoke with a glowing warmth 

 and a moral earnestness which seemed akin to 

 inspiration. It is doubtful whether any pre- 

 vious lecturer had shown such remarkable 

 power of presenting all-tract and philosophical 

 ideas, so that they stand out like peaks in the 



landscape or shine like stare in the blue firrua- 



ment. His views were in striking < 

 with those of t| H . Materiali-tic -,-;io,,|. which 

 had so long helil tin- mind of Fran,-,- in it* 

 smothering gripe; and, appealing as h,- did to 



t.'le -"111, to tin: i|eepi--t and liobl.-t - i-li t illielltS 



of human nature, to the intuitions of the uni- 

 versal reason, the unprecedented response to 

 his words was as honorable, to his pupils 00 

 complimentary to himself. 



\\ ( aried with work, in 1819 he made a tour 

 through Germany ami Italy, studying as he 

 went. But on his return in 1 820 he was sus- 

 pected of holding and teaching political senti- 

 ments inimical to the Government, and his lec- 

 tures were suspended. For seven years he lived 

 in disgrace poor, but still devoting himself 

 to his favorite studies. He published the tir-t 

 of his philosophical writings, and they won im- 

 mediate popularity. While travelling in Ger- 

 many, in 1824, he was arrested at Dresden and 

 thrown into prison, -where he was detained for 

 several months. His accusers were unable to 

 establish a single point against his honor, and he 

 was acquitted with distinction, securing new 

 fame by his magnanimous spirit and course. In 

 1827 he was restored to his chair, and, having de- 

 veloped his philosophical ideas into what was 

 known as the Eclectic System, he set them 

 forth in courses of lectures which, for the time. 

 made him the most conspicuous and influential 

 living philosopher. His liberal political seflti- 

 ments increased his popularity, and in 1830 he 

 was offered a prominent political position ; but 

 he replied: "Politics are an episode with me; 

 the foundation of my life belongs to philos- 

 ophy." He was now placed at the head of the 

 Normal school, which he completely reorgan- 

 ized, and commenced the publication of the 

 works by which he is chiefly known to the 

 world. 



Always deeply interested in popular educa- 

 tion, in 1840 he accepted the post of Minister 

 of Public Instruction, and won considerable 

 distinction by a remarkable speech in the Cham- 

 ber of the Peers in defence of philosophy and 

 the university. In 1848 he threw his influence 

 in favor of the revolution, but in 1849 retired 

 to private life, where he continued his stud it* 

 according to his health, delighting the triend- 

 who visited him with his glowing discour-r. 



The philosophy of Cousin was essentially a 

 protest against the materialistic systems of the 

 eighteenth century. His intellectual suscepti- 

 bilities were remarkably keen, and he absorbed, 

 as by a process of natural selection, the spirit- 

 ual ideas of previous thinkers, and anticipated 

 the conclusions of abler modern minds, em- 

 bodying the whole in a system as comprehen- 

 sive in its scope as it is original and fascinating. 

 Every feature of it is alive and palpitating with 

 its author'^ individuality. His criticisms of 

 previous philosophers, of Locke for instance, 

 are masterly, showing marvellous insight and 

 analytic power. That single work places its 

 author in the first rank of modern meUiphy- 



