81 



METAPHYSICS. 



Mtphx- jMiTATHYSics have been called the Pint phitotopliy, 

 let. or tin f K'tactt. as their obju-t i to explain the 



*-"-- principle^ and caa*es> of all tiling 4 exi-tini;, and to sup- 

 DclaiUoo. p|y t | le J^'ert, lt { mt.-rior science*, which do not 



urficiernly explain tlieir principle*. Me- 

 taphysics, ay* l,"f'l Miinboddo, con-' tier the t <:* *' 

 .i; tlut ie lenmot prop 



5N.ioxi.ni themselves, and as rxirting in na- 



' not a* the subject of any particular science, 

 they be the pnn, IP.I- of all ciences, and of all 





thor. I 



metaphysics have derived 

 circumstance of their 

 ritotle. and have laughed 



i- l.j .1 M ii-mr. tn.i:i : .,- 

 writings of a certain au- 



CspsM OI Wings, rar* mr* r< ^r- 

 u, it it e . be bad one of two things in view: 



hen, iiave meant that the subject* treated of 



. ly, to come a" d re- 



searches; or that they were of a higher character, and 

 required bight r to comprehend them. In ei- 



ther of these acceptations, the term metaphysics i* pe- 

 culiarly appropriate ; and were we to adroit tint it was 

 imposed originally by the Aristotelians through igno- 

 rance, aiul without any authority frutu their master, we 

 would certainly say that it u the most fortunate 

 cidence of an accidental name with the true nature of 

 the science to be found in the history of scientific no- 

 niencl.it '. r 



Hi. ng licatc.l the name from the charge of a 

 piir .u. ,.n _. I' - -' r : Ii ..'!.! r, r 



uinp the science itself from the oppro- 



- Il I i- fi.'.en -II l' i 



.u of the present superficial generation. VVe grant 



Uiat the .1 sufli- 



e ; and we are not *urpri*ed that the 



reader* of reviews, m*/azine . and novels, should 



shrink with horror at the t . numeration of 



he subje< 



l. P*y- 



Irtapriymcal Theolo- 

 S uin.ete-ary aixl useless ; it for 

 where 

 mice, and to render a science, 



. r . . T 



.-. Mi-d iin, !.| we 



to p!e- :ice of 



ited n^mes, and un- 



the boun- 



into which U 



til. 11. "t p.i, ! 



there w*< no real ; 

 wl,; .. hai 



h, d 



ntl 



darn e c 



But the .. ii ut metaphysician* has not 



been expelled liy *u< !i mean* as these ; it has not, 



like the demonology of the dark ages, yielded to the 



of super: ''){; it has l>een drum out 



more fell and more foul than r-> 't. !>. 

 ranee, indolence, ami aversion to solid knowlr<lgi- 

 taphysic* art not the only science proscribed by the 



reigning taste in Great Britain ; every thing that has Metaphr- 

 the appearance of profound discussion, if it be connect- sic*. 

 ed with mind or with morals, is thrown aside with dia- ~""Y~"^ 

 ;MI-I , and nothing can obtain HO much a* an rxamin.i- 



: it i~ not connected with palpable science, or 

 with that vitiated taste which feeds for ever, without 

 being *atinVd, on the fun^oin production* of superfi- 

 cial knowledge. What Jolmon said sarcastically of 

 the literature of Scotland, *eems to be in a fair way of 

 being realized as to the whole of (treat Britain : it will 

 soon be like a city in a (iege, where every man lias a 

 ration nt t'.xxl/lmi no one gets a bellyful. 



In siuh ci cumstances, we cannot expect much at- 

 tention to l*e pai'l toinetaphy-ics, when tin- Mibjcc-t both 

 labours under a bad Bame, and requires too much ex- 

 pence of thought for the present frivolous taste of the 

 age. Ii i% ciinoui to remark," says an eloquent de- 

 fender of metaphysical science *, " the strange notions 

 which men, who are quite ignorant of its nature, have 

 formed of the /f/*/ pkikunpky." There are some who 

 seem scriosMly to believe, that this science serves only 

 to darken and bewilder the understanding ; while others 

 sippose. that it consists in the l>*l>hling of a pedantic 

 jargon, which constituted the barbarous language ot 

 the scholastic learning. If a perplexed reasoner puzzle 

 himself and hi* audience, we are almost sure to hear 

 hi* metaphysical subtlety reproved or lamented ; and 

 he, upon hi* part, seldom fail* to ascribe the confusion 

 of his idea* to the obacure nature of all speculative doc- 

 trine-". If a pert rhetorician get entangled in his own 

 sophistriea, he i* ever ready to accuse himself of having 

 too much of the very logic which he want*. There i* 

 not a mere tyro in literature, who ha blundered round 

 the meaning of a chapter in I'Ut >, but is content to 

 mistake himself for a philosopher. A sciolist cannot 

 set up for an AtheUt, without first hailing himself a 

 meUphyirian ; while an ignorant dogmatist no sooner 

 finds himself embarrassed with a doubt, than he seeks 

 to avenge Ilia otfV-ndcd vanity, by representing all me- 

 taphyiica! inquiries as idle or mischievous Thu< the 



t of the science* i* mistaken and vilified by the 

 folly of some, and by the prejudice* of others ; by the 

 impertinent pretension* of a few, who could never un- 

 der- taml it, and t.y the unjustifiable censures of many, 

 who have never given it a fair and candid examination. 

 He, however, who ha* been accustomed to meditate on 

 the principle* of things, the spring* of action, the loiin- 

 dations of political government, the sources of n -\ 



law. the nature of the paasions, the influence of habit 

 and association, the formation of <h .racier *n<l temper, 

 the faculties of the soul, and t . mind, 



will not be persuaded that these thin;;- are unworthy 

 patient aiteniion, because presumptuous writers 

 have abused the liberty of investigation, or becausedull 

 ave found it to be unavailing. He know* that 

 metaphysics do not exclude other learning, that, on the 

 contrary, they blend themselves with all the sciences. 



. i, the love of truth to grow strong with the search 

 of it. Hi cm tenses the very bounded powers of the 

 human understanding, while he contemplates the im- 



VOU XIV. PART 



