108 ^ PHILO 
of the Newtonian philofophy, are called Attradlion and 
Repulfion. The power of all affedled ftrata is inverfely 
as the lead diftance at which the equilibrium of the 
furfaces will not be reftored; and the galvanic feries is 
merely a mechanical means of accumulating or accelera¬ 
ting an original excitement. 
22. Chemical affinity affords proof that atoms are com¬ 
pounded in different forms, which coalefce and dovetail 
together with more or lei's facility. 
23« Definite fizes in the vegetable and animal king¬ 
doms relult from the fixed ratios of the law of increafe 
and decreafe, or of accretion and difperfion ; which fixed 
ratios generate a degree of increale, whofe limits are 
determined by the limultaneoufly aiding law of decreafe. 
24.. All the changes vifible on the furface of tlie earth 
are confequences of volcanoes, terrene or fubmarine ; or 
of the flow mechanical adtion of air and water; and the 
great changes caufed by water arife from the fucceffive 
transfers of the ocean into either hemifphere, by the re¬ 
volution of the perihelion point of the earth’s orbit 
through the ecliptic in every 20,900 years : the exifting 
llrata of organic remains feeming to prove that at lead 
three fuch revolutions have taken place fince the planet 
of the earth exided in its prefent form. 
25. In fine, Motions of Matter, fubjedt to regular me¬ 
chanical laws, aiding abfolutely or fubordinately, gene¬ 
rally or locally, on aggregates or atoms, and producing 
various denfities and different degrees of loco-motion 
and affinity in atoms of matter of different condituent 
forms, are the proximate caufes of all phenomena; and, 
as one feries of phenomena depends on another, fo all 
exiding phenomena are, in regard to others, phyfically fit, 
compatible, and harmonious ; and, as matter cannot ori¬ 
ginate its own motion, fo, in confidering motion as 
the proximate caufeofall phenomena, we arrive, through 
the afcending feries, at the neceffary and fublime First 
Cause of all motion and all phenomena. 
II. MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 
This branch of the fcience inveftigates the laws of the 
human mind. Its objeidis to afcertain the properties of 
the mind, the origin of its various modes of thought and 
feeling, the ways in which they operate upon each other, 
and the means by which they are to be cultivated or re- 
preffed. 
Mental philofophy is not uncommonly confounded with 
metaphyfics; and the abfurdities and fertile fpeculations 
which have been claffed under the latter, have been fup- 
pofed by many to belong to the former. Metaphyfics 
(pt-ru to. (pvo-ixx) coraprehend's all thofe invedigations 
which have lor their aim the properties, claflification, and 
laws, of fuch objedls of human thought as by fenfation 
alone could not be brought under the notice of the mind; 
and it confequently includes the philofophy of the human 
mind; but it is obvioufly unjuft to throw upon this 
branch of metaphyfics the ft i grp a which, if due to any, 
belongs to thofe branches alone which have no relation 
to our mental law's and operations. The ancient meta¬ 
phyfics comprehended many objedts which can fcarcely 
be laid to lie within the fphere of human knowledge, 
and which are rather to be coniidered as the reveries of 
imagination than as the realities of intelledf; but thefe 
the good fenfe of the prefent day regards merely as objedls 
of curiofity, notwithftanding the efforts of the learned 
Harris and others to bring us back to all the philofopiii- 
cal vagaries of antiquity. Excluding thefe, however, 
(with which the fcience of metaphyfics is no more charge¬ 
able than phyfical fcience is with the vortices of Des 
Cartes,) we are difpoled to allow a high rank to a few 
only of thofe objefts of metaphyfical refearcb which do 
not juftly clafs under the head of mental philofophy. 
We regard them, in general, as only amufing fpeculations, 
which may ferve to ffiarpen the adlivity of the intellect ; 
but we are no advocates for the young philofopher fpend- 
ing his exertions upon them. 1 
SOPHY. 
Whatever relates to the properties of the mind, to the 
operations of intellect and affedfion, is of high value in 
various points of view. The 'philofophy of the mind, as 
Mr. Stewart juftly remarks, abftradled entirely from that 
eminence which belongs to it in confequence of its prac¬ 
tical applications, may claim a diltinguiflied rank among 
thofe preparatory difciplines which bifnop Berkeley has 
happily compared to “ the crops which are raifed, not for 
the fake of the harveft, but to be ploughed in as a dreffing 
to the land.” 
A found and comprehenfive acquaintance with the laws 
of our mental frame, is of incalculable utility in the bu- 
finefs of education. It gives to thofe who condudt it, cor- 
redl views as to its objedts. It (hows,the vaft importance 
of early impreffions, of early attention to the culture of 
habits and difpofitions. It points out the beft means for 
forming thofe charadteriftics of intellect and aftedtion, 
which are effential to happinefs and ufefulnefs. 
In the lludy of mental philofophy, our fuccefs muff 
ultimately depend upon the attentive examination of 
what paffes within ourfelves ; and it is only fo far as the 
obfervations of others on the phenomena and laws of the 
mind are borne out by fuch examination, that we can feel 
a reafonable fatisfadlion in their corredtnefs. 
Though in fome refpedts the mental philofopher has 
great advantage over the natural philofopher, (requiring, 
for inftance, no apparatus, no rare or expenfive fubftances 
to fubmit to examination,) yet the inveftigations of the 
former mull, from the very nature of their objefts, beat- 
tended with obltacles which in no way affect the latter. 
The fleeting nature of our notions and feelings, and the 
extreme difficulty, in many cafes, of feparating the ope¬ 
rations of thought from tholeof language, conftitute fome 
of the leading caufes which impede dur fuccefs in this 
department of fcience; and thefe are made ftill more effi¬ 
cacious, by the difficulty of avoiding, in our explana¬ 
tions of mental phenomena, illuftrations derived from the 
objects of fenfation. Neverthelefs, the leading principles 
of the mind are not oblcure or difficult to be inveltigated ; 
and, where thefe are once fully eftabiiflied, and the enqui¬ 
rer is guided by them in his refearches, he cannot but at¬ 
tain refults which will prove of great pradiical utility; 
while at the fame time he will find fources of intereft not 
furpaffed by any which prefent themfeives to the phyfical 
philofopher. 
It might not be unattended with confiderabie amufe- 
ment to curious readers, were we to lay before them a con- 
nedted view of the leading fyftems which have been 
adopted refpedting the operations of the mind ; but this 
would lead us into too large a digreffion, nor can we afford 
fufiicient fpace for fuch a purpofe ; neither is it neceffary, 
as moft of the fyftems have been already explained, 
though not in a connedied form, but under different 
heads. Such, however, as are defirous of feeing the opi¬ 
nions of the principal metaphyficians, ancient and mo¬ 
dern, on the lubjedt of our mental faculties, ideas, &c. 
will find a great fund of valuable information in Dr. 
Reid’s Effays on the Intelledfual Powers. 
In the mean time, we (hall, in this article, confine our¬ 
felves to detail the fyftem of Kant, the ground-work of 
which has been lufficiently laid under Logic, Metaphy¬ 
sics, &c. The fame gentleman who wrote thofe articles 
has furniffied us with the prelent treatife, the greater part 
of which has never before appeared in the Englilh lan¬ 
guage; as it contains the only tranflation of Kant’s Cri¬ 
tic of Pure Reason, a work of the greateft celebrity 
in Germany, but which has been for fitty years a Jealed 
booh to this country, no one having had courage enough 
to attempt to clothe it in an Englilh drefs. Mr. Dugald 
Stewart having devoted much of his elaborate Differta- 
tion in the Supplemental Volumes of the Encyclopaedia 
Britannica to ltridfures on this important work, we feel 
it a duty to contribute our (hare of information upon this 
interefting fubjedt by laying the prefent article before our 
readers juft as we received it. 
