REID. 



33 J 



Reid, Dr. entitled a man to the highest rank in philosophy, am- 

 ^^ry^v/ bition might have induced me to employ upon it some 

 years of painful study, and less I conceive would not 

 be sufficient. Such reflexions as these always got the bet- 

 ter of my resolution when the ardour first began to cool. 

 All I can say is, that I have read some part of the dif- 

 ferent books with care, some slightly, and some per- 

 haps not at all. I have glanced over the whole often ; 

 and when any thing attracted my attention, J have dip- 

 ped into it till my appetite was satisfied." 



The approach of age and of its attendant infirmities, 

 induced Dr. Reid to withdraw from the duties of a 

 public lecturer in the year 1781, when he had passed 

 his seventieth year. He was the more inclined to take 

 this step, as he had only a few years to count upon for 

 completing his great work on the Human Mind, in 

 which he had made considerable progress. He accord, 

 ingly devoted all his time to this task, and, in 1785, 

 he was enabled to publish his Essays on the Intellectual 

 Powers of Man, which were followed in 1788, with his 

 Essays OH the Active Powers of Man. 



Having thus been permitted to complete his great 

 work, our author now devoted a greater portion of his 

 time to general science. Ke took a deep interest in 

 the discoveries of modern chemistry, to which the la- 

 bours of his friend and colleague Dr. Black had so es- 

 sentially contributed ; and he even diligently studied 

 the new nomenclature of Lavoisier, and the new the- 

 ories on which it was founded. Several short essays, 

 on subjects which had interested him, he read from 

 time to time to a philosophical society at Glasgow, of 

 which he was a member; and the last of these, which 

 was written in his 861 h year, was communicated to 

 the society only a short time before his death. 



In the summer of J796, be spent some weeks with 

 Ins friends in Edinburgh ; but about the end of Sep- 



tember, soon after his return to Glasgow, he experien- 

 ced a sharp attack of a violent disease, which, aggravat- 

 ed by repeated strokes of palsy, put an end to his long 

 and venerable life on the 7th October, in the 87th year 

 of his age. 



Along with a sound and vigorous mind, nature had 

 conferred on Dr. Reid a strong and healthy constitu- 

 tion, and a powerful and muscular frame. Tempe- 

 rance and regular exercise protected him against the 

 disorders incident to a sedentary life, and the serenity 

 of his temper conspired with these bodily qualities to 

 prolong his life beyond its ordinary limits. 



In his moral character, Dr. lleid was inflexibly up- 

 right, deeply attached to truth, and possessed of a tho- 

 rough mastery over his passions. In his disposition 

 he was peculiarly gentle aud modest; and he had ac- 

 quired that true humility which profound knowledge 

 and Christian hope never fail to impress upon our na- 

 ture. 



As a lecturer, Dr. Reid was in no respect distin- 

 guished by any attractions either of elocution or of 

 manner. The simplicity and perspicuity of his style 

 corresponded with the dignity and gravity of his de- 

 meanour; and in his latter days, the proper respect 

 with which his lectures were always listened to, rose 

 to that high veneration which is ever paid to old age, 

 when clothed with the attributes of wisdom and of vir- 

 tue. 



The philosophy of Dr. Reid, though it still flourishes 

 in Scotland, has never yet made its way into the sis- 

 ter kingdom ; and the two countries are as much di- 

 vided in their metaphysical faith, as they formerly were 

 in questions of national policy. The peculiar doctrines 



of Dr. Reid have, with some exceptions, been maintain- Beikiatlk 

 ed by his friend and biographer Mr. Dugald Stewart, 

 who has illustrated them with his usual ingenuity and 

 eloquence. 



For farther information respecting the life and writ- 

 ings of Dr. Reid, we must refer our readers to Mr. 

 Stewart's interesting account of hi* life and writing*. 



In our articles LOGIC, Vol. XIII, METAPHYSICS, 

 Vol. XIV, and MOKAL PHILOSOPHY, Vol. XIV, our 

 readers will find much information respecting the phi- 

 losophy of Dr. Reid. 



REIKIAVIK. See ICELAND, Vol. XI. p. 6*7, &c. 

 &c. and the works quoted under that article. 



H1CL1GION. See CHRISTIANITY, METAPHYSICS, 

 MORAL I'IIII.O-OIMIY. and THEOLOGY. 



KEMBRANDT.VAN RYN, a celebrated Dutch pain- 

 ter, was born at a village near Leyden, in the year 

 1605. His real name was Gerretz* ; but he took the 

 name of Ryn from a village on the Rhine, in which he 

 resided in early life. 



Rembrandt received his first instructions in painting 

 from Zwanenburg, and afterwards studied under Pe- 

 ter Lastman and Jacob Pinas, from the last of whom 

 he is thought to have derived his passion for powerful 

 contrasts of lights and shadows. 



The talents of Rembrandt were first noticed by a 

 connoisseur at the Hague, to whom he had brought 

 a picture for sale. Convinced of the merit of the pic- 

 ture, he gave him a hundred florins for it, and treated 

 him with much kindness. This incident immediately 

 extended his reputation, and he soon found himself in 

 the possession of full employment. The pupils whom 

 he received into his school, paid him a hundred florins 

 a year ; and he often sold as originals, their copies of 

 his pictures, after having given them a few touches of 

 his own pencil. In this way, and by the sale of bis 

 etchings, which he executed with great facility, he ac- 

 cumulated considerable wealth ; and he is said, after 

 his removal to Amsterdam, to have been in the receipt 

 of at least 5500 florins annually. 



The execution of his picture of the Woman Taken 

 in Adultery, in the collection made by Mr. Angerstein, 

 is characterized by great minuteness and patience of 

 touch ; but he afterwards used his pencil with more 

 freedom, and even used the stick, the pallet, the knife, 

 or his finger, to produce effects,which though unable to 

 bear a near examination, were every way admirable at 

 the proper distance. 



Rembrandt was distinguished by many singularities, 

 and latterly by a great degree of avarice, which he dis- 

 played in ways by no means creditable. 



When he was one day painting a whole family in a sin- 

 gle picture, he received notice of the death of his mon- 

 key ; affected by the loss of that animal, he forgot his 

 customers, and painted the monkey along with them 

 on the same canvass. He is said to have tried various 

 schemes for obtaining a high price for his etchings. 

 Sometimes he made his son sell them, as if he had 

 stolen them from his father. At other times he ex- 

 posed them to sale, and went in disguise to bid for 

 them. Sometimes he threw off and sold unfinished 

 proofs, and when they were afterwards finished, they 

 appeared as fresh plates ; and sometimes he created a 

 temporary demand'for them, by announcing his inten- 

 tion of leaving Holland. His scholars, to whom his 

 love of money was well known, once painted some 

 pieces of money upon cards, which tempted Rem- 

 brandt to take them up. 



Among his scholars, Bohl and Eckhoud seem to 

 7 



