图书图片
PDF
ePub

REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF SCIENCE IN EDINBURGH.

MR EDITOR,

In a former letter I endeavoured to give some account of the circumstances which have raised this northern metropolis to that high rank as a seat of learning, which, throughout the whole of Europe, it is now allowed to hold. There are three circumstances, you will readily perceive, to which a University may be indebted for the fame it may have acquired. It may be possessed of a superior plan of education to that which is embraced by contemporary semina ries, or its teachers may be distinguished for the assiduity and zeal with which they are disposed to discharge the duty entrusted to them, or its members may have connected themselves, by the importance of their discoveries, with the improvements which science itself has been receiving. Now, if my object in my former letter had been to attend particularly to the first of these circumstances, I should have been led to discuss the important question, which has frequently been agitated during recent years, respecting the comparative merits of those plans of education which have been adopted by the English and by the Scotch Universities. An examination of the second circumstance, again, would have necessarily led me into details of character which are unsuitable to the object for which I write, and which could also have afforded but little information to the generality of readers. In my former communication, therefore, I endeavoured, though in a very rapid and general manner, to give some account of the third circumstance I have noticed; and I trust your readers have not forgotten the conclusion in which my observations terminated, that not only has the University of this city kept pace in the career of instruction it has adopted, with the great advances which science has been making during the preceding century, but that there is scarcely a single department of science which has not derived some of its most valuable improvements from individuals connected with this seminary. To these observations I added some further details respecting the circumstances which have extended the influence of litera

VOL. I.

ture throughout that greater department of the inhabitants of this city who are less directly connected with the business of education-and I now proceed, in pursuance of my original design, to offer, on the same general plan, a short sketch of the science of this place, as it is allowed to exist at the present moment.

1st, Proceeding, then, in the same order as in my former observations, it is scarcely necessary that I should stop to remark, that the medical department of this University continues to be conducted with the same ability and success as at any former period. So widely, indeed, is the fame of this seminary diffused, especially as a school of medical instruction, that, if we may believe a late, though I am afraid rather a suspicious account, the merits of this city, in this department of knowledge, have even been the theme of some interesting conversation among the distinguished inhabitants of the island of St Helena. But whatever may be the truth of this account, there are some obvious circumstances which cannot fail to have a very powerful effect in preserving this institution during many years, in much of the vigour which it has hitherto enjoyed. So recent, indeed, is the institution itself, that the names of several of its founders are still held by some of the most distinguished individuals who now support the fame of this school,-and the whole body have thus not only the incitement which the flourishing state of this seminary presents, but that further very powerful inducement which springs from the recollection of the men they have succeeded, to preserve their school from falling from the rank which it is known to have held under their illustrious predecessors. medical school of this city, however, it must further be recollected, is by no means confined to that course of instruction which is afforded by the established routine of the University,

The

lecturers of the very highest merit, and in every department of medical science, surround with the salutary efficacy of their zeal, the established seat of academical instruction; and so powerfully does this spirit of lecturing prevail, that no sooner is there a probability of students being obtained for any new department, than individuals of high accomplishment are

3 H

ready to offer themselves as instructors in this line. Within these few years, two lectureships, which appear to myself to be of infinite importance, not, indeed, to what is more properly the business of a physician, but to a perfect system of medical instruction, have been instituted in this way, by gentlemen of the very highest medical acquirements,-I mean the class of Physiology-and that of Comparative Anatomy. Your readers, I am persuaded, will readily perceive the value of both these institutions, the one from its tendency to give just philosophical ideas of a profession which has always been remarkable for substituting the utmost wildness of theory, in the place of well established and instructive facts,-and the other not only from its adaptation to throw much additional light on the interesting system of the animal economy, but from its intimate connection with those other important speculations which now employ the philosophical world. From these observations, however, your readers will perceive, that the medical school of this place is not only rich in remembrances of the eminent men who have formerly superintended and guided its instructions, but is also guarded from decay by the salutary rivalship which is allowed to take place between the members of the University and those unendowed lecturers who are altogether dependent on the success of their labours; and that on both these accounts we may indulge the hope, that the University of this city in its medical department will long continue to be regarded as one of the first schools which Europe possesses.

2d, The low state of mathematical learning in this country has now become a subject of very general regret among the votaries of that science; both departments of Britain, indeed, are at present far behind most of the Continental nations in mathematical acquirements; but Scotland, in particular, has long been on the decline in this respect, and nothing is more common than to hear it lamented, that the lighter and more disputatious kinds of philosophy have completely destroyed any taste we possessed for the more valuable demonstrations of the exact sciences. Now this, I readily confess, is a very great evil-for it is unquestionable, that by far the

sublimest achievements of human genius are open only to those who are intimately acquainted with the writings of mathematicians; and that though a man were thoroughly informed as to all the other departinents of knowledge, if he is ignorant of all that the mathematicians have done, he belongs but to a secondary class in the republic of letters. I am decidedly of opinion, at the same time, that this acknowledged deficiency (which is common, as I have said, to both departments of this island) is by no means to be attributed to any thing unfavourable on the part of the natives. Britain has in fact the honour of having produced, in better days, the most accomplished mathematicians that ever lived; and the mathematical chair of the University of this city has been filled, during the long period of a century and a half, by men whom the voice of Europe has decidedly placed in the very first rank of scientific accomplishment. The defect I have mentioned, therefore, can only exist in the peculiar nature of our public institutions; and I think I shall have little difficulty in making your readers understand how the matter stands in this respect, in so far as this northern department of the island is concerned.

The truth then seems to be, that, in order to have a system of public instruction, which shall be peculiarly propitious to the cultivation of the mathematics, two things are absolutely necessary. It is necessary, in the first place, that the education of the student, in the branches subsidiary to this department, be begun almost with the first instruction which his boyhood receives; and, secondly, that when he comes to enter more decidedly upon the great field of mathematical research, his attention be not too powerfully solicited by other pursuits which are of a more attractive, but far less important nature. On the continent of Europe, accordingly, where, during the last thirty years, mathematical learning has made such prodigious advances, the first of these requisites is universally admitted; and the example of England seems to sanction the necessity of the other, by consecrating one of her academical seats almost exclusively to the cultivation of mathematical science. It is needless for me to remark on how very

different a system our education is at present conducted. Most of our youth begin their career of liberal study with the most scanty acquaintance with the art of calculation which can well be imagined; they are far, therefore, from being masters of that preparatory language in which the most important discoveries of science are contained;-while, at the same time, from the order in which their mathematical studies occur, they are inevitably solicited by the very powerful temptation of resigning the fatigue of abstract investigations for the more splendid attractions of those departments of philosophy, with the language of which they are of course perfectly acquainted. From all this, it necessarily results, that the mathematical acquirements, of by far the greater number of those who attend our Universities, are left in the most unfinished state; and that though a few are occasionally carried by the impulse of genius to the prosecution of studies for which they are peculiarly adapted, many also who might have attained the highest eminence in the department of mathematical and analytical learning, are seduced by the temptations which are thrown in their way into the more fascinating paths of metaphysical research, or into the still more alluring retreats of polite learning. After all, I am not certain, that, in one very important respect, we lose greatly by this course of study. system of liberal education may be regarded as destined to the accomplishment of two different objects. It may either be considered as adapted for the training of men who are to be distinguished in the walks of scientific research, or as fitted for conveying to the mass of the community (to that part of the community at least whose circumstances lead them to liberal study) such a general acquaintance with all the departments of knowledge, as may at once liberalize their own minds, and prepare them for engaging with ability and success in the diversified scenes of active life. Now, I have not the smallest hesitation in saying, that, if these two objects are found to be incompatible, the last is that which ought most certainly to be preferred; and I think it is equally clear, that, whatever may have been the case with the Universities of England, the founders of our seminaries at least had more distinctly in view

A

the latter of these objects. I think you will also agree with me, that, when the latter of these objects chiefly is in view, there is no plan of instruction which a University could adopt that is less adapted for accomplishing its design, than that which should assign to mathematical learning an importance paramount to that of every other study. Nothing, I apprehend, can be more evident than that the kind of reasoning in which mathematicians indulge is essentially different from that by which all the business of life is accomplished;-no man thinks, in his ordinary occupations, in the language or in the train of a mathematical demonstration; and the best habits of study, for the business of life, must evidently be those by which the mind is prepared in the most effectual manner for understanding those trains of moral reasoning, which are constantly called for by our ordinary occupations, it is upon these grounds that I have ventured to assert, that though I deeply lament the neglect of mathematics, considered as the most essential training for a philosopher, I am not, however, so certainly convinced, that, by the prevailing taste for other pursuits, we have been greatly losers, in so far as the ability of our people is concerned, for the scenes of active and manly occupation.

3d, We have long been considered as decidedly a metaphysical generation; and the general belief of foreigners seems to be, that our education is almost entirely confined to abstract disquisitions respecting cause and ef fect. I am disposed to believe that there is something in the genius of our people which peculiarly fits them for such investigations;-we are unquestionably an acute and a reflecting people, and no person who has attentively considered the tendencies of our countrymen, can fail to have remarked with what cordial satisfaction even the lowest of our peasantry receive those curious mixtures of mysticism and of metaphysics which are still too frequently substituted by their ecclesiastical instructors for the pure and simple morality of the gospel. While I am thus readily disposed, however, to admit the existence of something in the original constitution of our minds, which is peculiarly favourable to abstract investigation, I think it is evident, on the other hand,

that the degree to which such pursuits have long been prevalent among us is chiefly to be attributed to the manner in which our studies at the University are conducted. I have already remarked, that the choice is there at once presented to the student between the dry demonstrations of the exact sciences, and the fascinating discussions of metaphysical inquiry;-he must, in fact, either become a mathematician, or a pneumatologist; and it is easy to perceive, that, with the generality of students, this latter study, which requires no previous acquaintance with a peculiar symbol, and no long preparation for unfolding its mysteries, will naturally become the favourite pursuit. We accordingly consider ourselves as adepts in all that is valuable in philosophy, when we have devoted a year or two to one of its departments, and believe, with the usual conceit of ignorance, that nothing is worthy of being investigated or known beyond that with which we are particularly acquainted.

I ought, however, to remark, that what we now class under the head of metaphysics, is in reality a study of a very different description from that which formerly passed under the same denomination. Improved as every department of philosophy has been in modern times, and, indeed, within the comparatively short period of a century and a half, this great department could not possibly escape the same meliorating influence. It has accordingly risen, as you well know, from being a mighty mass of ill-assorted reasonings, to the dignity of a science of the very first importance; and, though I am ready to allow, that, from the very nature of the study, a person may be acquainted with all its details, and yet be possessed of a very scanty portion of knowledge, I hold it to be equally certain, that no individual can do justice to this study, without obtaining an acquaintance with the rules of investigation, and with the capacity and limits of the human understanding, which he could not equally derive from any other source. I consider the philosophy of mind, therefore, as it is at present conducted, to constitute by far the most valuable of all the parts of that discipline to which a well educated youth is required to submit. Indeed, I think I have always perceived, that whenever an

individual has given much attention to this study in his youth, he never fails to display in after life a depth of understanding, and a philosophical mode of considering his subject, with which no other sort of preparation could have so effectually gifted him. Enriched as this study now is with many beautiful speculations respecting the philosophical principles of criticism and taste, as well as with a very successful analysis of some of the most important operations of the human understanding, it promises, I think, to shed a radiance round philosophy which must greatly facilitate her progress to perfection; and though of itself it is evidently quite inadequate to furnish the mind with a complete assortment of knowledge, I am yet persuaded, that, among all the various departments of study considered as a preparation for future researches, this is the one which could least easily be dispensed with.

Important, however, as I consider this department of science to be, I am afraid, that, with regard to the number of its active cultivators, it is at present in rather a declining condition. The excitement given to the ambition of the studious by the publication of the metaphysical essays of Reid, has long been replaced by other fascinations. So immense a range of study is now opened to the inquisitive, that a small portion either of inclination or of leisure is necessarily left for those patient investigations by which only the philosophy of mind can be carried to perfection; and, though this science has had the peculiar advantage of being illustrated and improved by one of the most eloquent individuals of modern times, it is notorious that the number of those who are devoted to this study is limited and defective in a remarkable degree. Much, I think, might be expected from the ability and accomplishments of the eminent individual who now presides over the principal department of metaphysical study in this University. That gentleman is known to be gifted not only with metaphysical talents of the very first order, but with a taste also for what is elegant in every branch of literature, which is of infinite importance to the cultivation of his science; and I cannot help, therefore, expressing a hope, that, with all these advantages, he will soon ful

fil the very splendid promise of his early youth, and will relinquish the unprofitable art of Poesy," to devote himself, without interruption, to the improvement of a science, on which he is qualified to confer the most important benefits, and which cannot fail, when successfully improved, to shed a most auspicious light on all the departments both of liberal knowledge, and of elegant learning.

4th, Your readers, I presume, are acquainted with the interest which the researches of geology have recently excited in every country of Europe. Many circumstances, however, contributed to give this study, and its kindred pursuits, a more than ordinary fascination for the scholars of this land. One of the rival theories which now divide the geological world, originated in this city; the arguments most favourable to the positions of that theory, have been chiefly suggested by facts and appearances characteristic of the rocks which surround this metropolis. The leading doctrines of the Huttonian hypothesis have been eloquently illustrated by a distinguished member of the University of this place; and on all hands, it is agreed, that the scenery of Scotland offers one of the most interesting fields of examination which is any where presented to the curiosity of a mineralogist. From all these circumstances, it was naturally to be expected that a strong prejudice would be awakened in this country in favour of that theory which was of native growth, and against any views which might aim at its subversion. Upon the promulgation of the doctrine of the German mineralogist, a strenuous effort was accordingly made to lessen its credit, and to refute its details. The learned of this metropolis were invited to witness the public disputations of the leading antagonists, and nothing was heard, even in the politest companies, but discussions of the merits of the Neptunists and Plutonists. The former party, however, appear to have obtained a decisive superiority; the voice of the majority is at least, at this moment, unequivocally in their favour, and, though it is generally allowed that the theory of the Huttonians was peculiarly worthy, from the grandeur and novelty of the views which it disclosed, of the exertions which were made to support its

authority, the system of the Neptunists seems to be almost universally regarded as more consistent with the conclusions of observation, and with the rules which should guide a philosophical investigation.

In one very important respect I believe you will agree with me in thinking, that the victory which has been gained was devoutly to be wished for. The views of the Huttonians, it ought never to be forgotten, were confined to the establishment of a philosophical hypothesis respecting the order which takes place in the transformations of our globe. The author of that theory was himself but imperfectly acquainted with mineralogical details. The most distinguished of his supporters have not been remarkable for their attainments in this science; and it is pretty generally asserted to be one of their maxims, that a very correct theory of the earth may be formed upon a very slight foundation of mineralogical information. The theory of Werner, on the contrary, deserves to be considered as a strict induction from the mineralogical facts which had fallen under his observation. The most valuable part of his doctrine, in truth, consists, not in the theory by which he has explained his arrangement, but in the beautiful order it has been his fortune to disclose, in the actual distribution of mineral substances. His disciples have distinguished themselves by a most persevering industry in collecting observations in every quarter of the globe; and his theory itself is so constructed, as to admit of any modifications or changes which the progress of observation may show to be necessary. In these circumstances, I think you will agree with me in believing, that, had the doctrine of the Huttonians obtained the ascendancy, we should have become indeed the disciples of a most captivating hypothesis, and might have, further, been able, in our ordinary conversations, to pass with the utmost familiarity and dispatch, "extra flammantia mænia mundi,” into those prior scenes of antiquated nature of which the impressive memorials are every where around us-(a power unquestionably of no ordinary fascination)-but that we had little chance of seeing our own puny department of the world examined and traversed

« 上一页继续 »