respects thorough, a religious learning in the best sense of the phrase, and that the greatest danger to be feared in all critical examinations of Scripture lies in the merely literary handling of the same. It holds good of the Bible above all other books, that to understand it in its parts we must understand it as a whole. And to understand it as a whole, the first requisite,— a requisite which takes precedence even of the commanding intellect and the capacious erudition,-is the sympathetic spirit. This is true indeed of all studies. Thus, in art, none will dispute that he who does not know the intuitive, subtle, spiritual power of beauty, he whose mind has not been, as it were, baptised into her ethereal essence, will be likely to form, however minute his acquaintance may be with technicalities and formal principles, an unreliable, because an inappreciative, critic. But of sacred criticism it holds good in a very special sense, that our whole conception and understanding of Scripture must be modified in the very foundation, if we approach it without the spirit proper to it. For by Scripture we mean this among other things,-a body of writings which are at once the mirror of holiness and the media by which God and Christ bear witness of themselves to the church. Consequently, in order to appreciate it we must have the experience of the inner witness of God and Christ in our own hearts; and in particular, in order to value and understand the Old Testament aright, we must be able to view it in the power of that connection in which it stands, historically with the New Testament, and experimentally with the spirit of our own Christianity. He therefore who comes to the study of the Hebrew or the Christian Scriptures as a mere litterateur, and pronounces upon the worth and import of these documents without regard to the personal knowledge of that faith of which they profess to be the records, enters upon his task unfurnished with that arm which, from the very nature of the case proposed, is the initial and indispensable condition to a just and adequate judgment. And how carefully in this very matter of Old Testament inquiry we ought to guard against all merely literary handling of these Scriptures, and to how extreme and melancholy an issue the prosecution of that mode of treatment alone may legitimately carry one, we may learn from the case of Ernest Renan, who, in one of his most thoughtful works, the Etudes d'Histoire Religieuse, while extolling the Bible, as he has studied it, simply as a literary treasure, is led openly and explicitly to deny that the general reading of the Bible among the masses is a good thing except, as he adds, so far "as it is much better to see the people read the Bible than nothing at all."*

S. D. F. S.

* Mr Gladstone also notices this in his Studies on Homer, vol. II.,

p. 526.

Life of Sir William Hamilton.

41

ART. III.-Life of Sir William Hamilton.

Memoir of Sir William Hamilton, Bart., Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in the University of Edinburgh. By JOHN VFITCH, M.A., Professor of Logic and Rhetoric in the University of Glasgow. William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London. 1869.

A FEW years after the death of Sir William Hamilton, in
1856, his academic Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic
were published under the editorial superintendence of two
friends and disciples, Professor Mansell of Oxford, now Dean
of St Paul's, and Mr John Veitch, now Professor of Logic and
Rhetoric in the University of Glasgow. These posthumous
publications were well received by the public; and if they did
not materially augment, they at least amply sustained the
well-won reputation of the great Scottish master. The chief
contributions of that master to Philosophy and Logical Science
had been well known and keenly discussed during his life;
and but little of what was original in his speculations remained
to be given to the world after his death. Yet his lectures,
necessarily published under various disadvantages, were found
to contain much of what is admirable in philosophical thought
and expression, much that illustrated and defended the pro-
found views of their author, or exhibited the marvellous extent
and depth of his learning. When it is remembered that they
were written in great haste, shortly before their delivery in the
class-room, and were never revised by the writer for publica-
tion, it must be admitted that they are extraordinary produc-
tions, such as could have emanated only from a most powerful
and highly cultivated philosophical mind. They have, accord-
ingly, taken a permanent place in the philosophical literature
of the age.
What are the great doctrines they expound, or
what valuable contributions they have made to the philosophy
of the human mind, we do not here undertake to inform our
readers. In this Journal have already appeared various
elaborate estimates of Sir William Hamilton's philosophy and
of his powers as an original thinker. We do not care, at pre-
sent, either to add to or to modify these estimates. But in
conformity with what we have already said, or are committed
to, we may declare that we still consider Sir William Hamilton
the greatest philosopher of the Scottish school, and a man who
has powerfully attempted to define the just limits of philo-
sophical speculation. We regard his "Philosophy of the Condi-
tioned" as a profound exposition and defence of the "common
sense" doctrines of Reid, and, though it has its dangerous
side, a real bulwark against scepticisin. That philosophy,

1

conceived in a spirit of wisdom and modesty, was expounded with astonishing acuteness and learning. The author's contributions to the science of logic we also think of great value. We shall not here attempt to expound his famous "Quantification of the Predicate," or to euumerate his simplifications and improvements of the laws of syllogism. It will be enough for the present to say that as a critic and master of logic he has not been equalled in modern times, and that he has cleared the ground for future students and reformers of that much abused but genuine and valuable science.

It was to be expected that in these biographical days we should not long be without a Life of Sir William Hamilton. Accordingly, soon after the publication of the Lectures, it was announced, or at least understood, that the Life of their author was to be written by Mr Veitch. And certainly it was felt by the public that a man like Hamilton deserved a good biographer; that his life and character could not be too completely and faithfully pourtrayed. Why the demanded and expected biography has been so long in making its appearance is not explained. It is possible, however, that the professional duties of the biographer, and the difficulty experienced in collecting the requisite materials, may account at once for the tardy appearance of the book, and for some of its more remarkable defects. That the book has fulfilled all expectations, or given us all that we could reasonably desire to know of Hamilton, is what cannot be truly affirmed; but, as we hope to shew, it gives, on the whole, a fair representation of a philosopher, who, though gifted with intellectual force of the highest order, never attempted to make any figure in public life, but was satisfied with the pursuits and enjoyments of the family man and the scholar.

William Hamilton was born in an academic atmosphere, and from his infancy was surrounded with all the influences of academic life. His father, Dr William, and his grandfather, Dr Thomas Hamilton, occupied in succession the chair of Anatomy and Botany in the University of Glasgow. He was born in his father's official or college residence, on the 8th March, 1788. His mother, Elizabeth Stirling, was a gentlewoman of good family, and of no ordinary powers of mind. It appears that his ancestors, on the father's side, were all distinguished by their superior abilities or force of character. Many of them had been closely connected with the Glasgow University, and had specially contributed to its efficiency. They were of an ancient and honoured stock, sprung from the ducal house of Hamilton, but distinguished also by its own achievements. The redoubtable Sir Robert Hamilton, who led the Covenanters at Drumclog and Bothwell Bridge, was a

member of the family, and bore in his time that baronetcy to which the great philosopher was afterwards served heir, and which is now adorned with a new lustre.

Young Hamilton lost his father when only two years of age; and, along with his younger brother, Thomas, he was educated entirely under the eye, or according to the judgment, of his mother. He was early destined for the medical profession, to which he seemed bound by hereditary ties; and his mother spared no pains or expense to give him the best preparatory education. Many stories are told of the studies and sports of his boyish years, all highly characteristic of the remarkable. physical and mental energy with which he was endowed. Decision of character and independence of spirit, which naturally spring from high intellectual power, were early manifested in the schoolboy; but they seem never to have interfered with his affectionate reverence for his mother. He was early sent to a preparatory Grammar School in Glasgow, taught by a Mr. Angus; and when he was only twelve years of age, he attended the junior Latin and Greek classes in the University. But his mother, as if determined that he should be well grounded in the learned languages before his college life should seriously begin, afterwards sent him to school in England. He and his brother Thomas were first placed in a seminary at Cheswick, kept by the Rev. Dr Horne. In a short time the brothers were separated, Thomas being sent to a school at Hounslow, and William to another at Bromley. At the latter place, under the care of the Rev. Dr Dean, the elder brother remained for nearly three years, and made considerable progress in his classical studies, though disliking England and pining for his native country. At midsummer, 1803, he and his brother were once more united in their studies and sports. They were removed from England, and placed under the care of the Rev. Dr Sommers, of Midcalder, a man of some accomplishments, who did ample justice to his pupils. Here the brothers, while not neglecting their studies, seem to have enjoyed themselves highly.

"The younger brother," says Mr Veitch, "was of a highly volatile temperament, and abounded in fun and mischief. William, however, was not without his dash of genuine boyishness. He is remembered by some who knew him at the manse, as a wild boy, and fond of sport,' quick-tempered, yet warmly affectionate. His spirits were extremely buoyant, his love of outdoor pastimes unbounded; and speedily the lead among the boys of the manse was spontaneously and cheerfully accorded to him, on account of the generous inspiration which he threw into all the sports of the place, as well as of his indisputable superiority in all feats of physical strength and dexterity, whether running, leaping, swimming in the Calder, or

daringly diving into the linn pool of a woodland burn, the glory of headers.""

We here get a glimpse into the energetic character of Hamilton, who, in his youthful days, was as remarkable for his physical strength, beauty, and courage, as for his vigorous intellect, strong will, and unflagging perseverance.

The two brothers were sent to the University of Glasgow at the commencement of the session 1803-4. The younger brother, Thomas, destined for a commercial life, prosecuted his college studies during three sessions; but after reluctantly going into a merchant's office in Liverpool, he soon gave up all thoughts of commerce, and indulged his original bent by entering the army. After seeing considerable service in Spain and America, he retired from the army in 1818, and devoted his talents to literature. He was a handsome, brave, and accomplished man, who will, perhaps, continue to be best known as the author of "Cyril Thornton." But William, who was expected to study medicine, and to emulate, if possible, the fame of his father and grandfather, gave himself up more entirely than his somewhat volatile and versatile brother to strictly academical pursuits. Most of the professors whose classes he attended were men of mark in their day. Richardson, the professor of Latin, was an accomplished humanitarian, full of literary enthusiasm; Young, the professor of Greek, had a still higher reputation as a scholar and teacher; in the Logic chair Jardine was almost unrivalled for his skill in drawing out and training the powers of the youthful mind; in the chair of Moral Philosophy Mylne, the immediate successor of the illustrious Reid, taught his cold sensational philosophy with acknowledged clearness and force of intellect. By the lessons of these eminent instructors Hamilton greatly profited. To Young and Jardine, especially, he frequently, in after life, acknowledged his great obligations. At Glasgow he also attended classes of chemistry, anatomy, and botany, as part of a regular course of medical study. But the love of literature and philosophy had by this time given a special direction to his habits and pursuits. He had begun to collect books, chiefly of a historical and philosophical character, and to lay the foundation of that admirable library in which he afterwards gloried, and which he turned to such a noble use. Though known as one of the most distinguished students at the University of Glasgow, and as a chief prizeman in most of his classes, he went in 1806 to prosecute his studies in Edinburgh, attracted, probably, by the high reputation of the metropolitan medical school. But by this time his anxious and far-seeing mother wished him to proceed to the University of Oxford, where his high talents might receive their best