read twenty pages of it, and not be convinced of the truth and justice of our remarks: and if they be true, can our inference be doubted?-will it not rather receive immediate and full assent -that the intellectual character and attainments of authors and readers, or, in other words, of the public at large, have risen very considerably within the last fifty years? The facts, that periodical publications are infinitely more numerous at present, than they were then-and that they are so various in their character and subjects, or in their individual contents, as to suit all tastes, habits, and pursuits,-prove, with equal force, that the cultivation of the mind, the acquisition of knowledge, and a desire to acquire more, are infinitely more common at present, than they were at the former period.

Here are two grand and most interesting facts evidently connected: more powerful intellect, and more accurate and extensive information, spread over a larger surface of the community :this is one fact: periodical publications displaying infinitely more ability, treating of a much greater variety of subjects a vast increase in the number of them respectively; and a still greater increase in their individual circulation, and consequently in their aggregate sale: this is another fact. Which is the cause, and which the effect? Or rather, shall we not find that in this, as well as in most cases of advancement in the progress of mankind in civilization,comfort, wealth, political, civil, and religious freedom, and in intellectual and moral habits and attain-, ments generally-that circumstances change their character-sometimes appearing as undoubted causes, the tendency, operation, and precise results of which, can be traced with clearness through all their ramifications; and at other times, appearing as effects, which flow, as from their natural and obvious causes, from those circumstances, which previously had been brought into existence by those means which now are their results?

But which is the primary and original cause? Did a demand exist in the more extended and influential literary habits and tastes of the people for a greater number and variety, and a higher class, of periodical publications; or were these first produced, and thence resulted the improvement of the popular mind? The inquiry is

not of much interest or importance: probably a feeble, confined, and scarcely living spark of superior intellect, was struggling into a flame, and in its struggles was assisted by the fuel applied to it from the sources we have mentioned: we need only reflect on our own acquirements in knowledge and taste, to be convinced how often they have sprung up from the accidental perusal of some work, which neither our literary habits would have induced us, nor our acquirements would have enabled us, to enter on the list of our regular and appropriate studies.

It is much more interesting, and of much more consequence, to reflect on the undoubted fact, that literature acts on the public acquirements and taste, and that these re-act on the character of the literature. The period at which an evident and essential improvement and elevation of our periodical publications took place, may be traced back to the first French revolutionary war. All sudden, violent, and extreme changes, are highly injurious to the physical, as well as the intellectual and moral nature of man; but while these changes often produce the most fatal results to his physical constitution, and seldom any good at all proportionate to the evil, they are, generally speaking, ultimately and permanently beneficial to the intellectual and moral portion of his nature. Much and dreadful mischief undoubtedly results, and the influence of this spreads far, and often lasts long: the belief, which was grounded on superstition, ignorance, authority, and mere habit, and which, of course, embraced and confounded much that was erroneous and hurtful with some undoubted and valuable truths, is shaken from its foundation, and in its fall involves in its fate doctrines sound and unsound, those that solace and elevate man, with those that terrify and degrade him; those that render him a cheerful subject of a free government, with those that fit him to become the brutified and stupid slave of despotism. But in this dreadful overthrow and destruction, the finger of wisdom and benevolence is still visible: what erroneous and prejudicial can again take its former powerful ro and what is true and beneficial, fixed on its own peculiar basis, will have greater stability, uphold a loftier and

broader superstructure, and cannot possibly in future run any risk of being involved in the overthrow of error, or, indeed, be essentially injured by any catastrophe. In the dreadful crisis of sudden, violent, and extreme changes, not only will all ancient belief be attacked, and the most absurd and dangerous speculative and practical maxims be propounded and enforced, but the obliquity of the understanding, which these indicate and encourage, will be still farther drawn aside from the path of truth, duty, and happiness, by the indulgence and nourishment of the most fierce, intractable, and poisonous passions of the human breast.

The dominion of the worst passions of the human breast, even when they are directed and aided by the coolness of a satanic understanding, are, how ever, from the wise and benevolent constitution of our nature, and the equally wise and benevolent course of human events, as little capable of being permanent and lasting as the dominion of error. The impulse and agitation of such a dreadful crisis cannot rouse and exercise the mind without benefiting it: it produces, indeed, a moral earthquake, bringing to the surface the lava which destroys and overwhelms all in its progress; but this lava itself, in a short time, is converted into a fertile soil, fitted to nourish and rear, not only the common produce, but to cause those seeds to germinate, which, but for this convulsion, would have still lain dormant and useless in the bosom of the earth.

To permit ourselves to believe that all the dreadful evils of misery and vice that flow from such events as those France exhibited during her revolutionary state, will not be followed and compensated in the course of time by a still greater portion of benefit to the human race, is to permit ourselves to lose faith and confidence in the wisdom, power, or benevolence of Providence-one, or other, or all of them. We may not be able to see so clearly and so far as to observe these benefits, any more than we can penetrate into the wisdom and benevolence of Providence, in the production of earthquakes, or any other physical calamity. But such must be the course and tendency of events both in the physical and moral world; though there may be occasional retro

gradations, even of some duration, the onward movement of mankind towards greater civilization and happiness is going on, and, in certain periods of time, may easily be observed and measured.

But to suppose that mankind can advance in civilization and happiness, without at the same time advancing in knowledge, is to suppose the consequence to exist independently of its natural and proper cause; and, in reality, we need no other proof that a nation has advanced in knowledge and the general tone and elevation of its intellect, than the circumstance of its being more civilized and prosperous than it was before.

But it is scarcely necessary to endeavour to prove these positions by general and abstract reasoning: whoever will compare the present state of the national mind in Britain as it is now, with the state in which it was thirty years ago, will be convinced of the fact, that it is stronger, more comprehensive in its grasp, more active and capable of digesting and assimilating a greater portion of more nourishing food its growth is evident; and it is equally evident, that the circumstances in which this country was placed during the last thirty years, though many of them frequently threatened to inflict a fatal blow on the intellectual as well as the moral portion of our nature, and actually did inflict a blow, that, but for that principle which wisely and benevolently connects evil with good, must have been fatal-these circumstances, we repeat, were mainly instrumental in effecting the advancement to which we have alluded.

The exertion of intellect called for and provoked by these circumstances, was nourished and supported by various other subordinate circumstances, which, though, like the grand and paramount ones, they did much mischief in their direct and immediate consequences, produced ultimately permanent good. We allude to the publications that sprung out of the French revolution, and the part that this country took on that occasion. The structure of human belief must at first be built up, in part at least, of improper materials, and must rest on a foundation not exactly of the broadest and firmest kind; in the same manner as the edifices erected in ignorance of the principles of mechanics and architecture cannot be so stable and conveni

ent as those erected on a knowledge of these principles: it would be desirable that human belief might be gradually and cautiously freed from its improper materials, and that the weak parts of its base might be strengthened; but this, if we may judge from the history of mankind, can hardly be expected: and the friend of mankind and humanity will do well to dwell as lightly and shortly as possible on the violent and destructive process of the change, and to fix his attention, interest, and hopes, on the alteration, after it has actually been accomplished.

lent and lasting correctives, such have been applied to us, and that they, acting on a healthy and vigorous constitution, have benefited us far more than the nations of the Continent have been benefited by passing through the fiery ordeal of the French Revolution.

We of this country, however, have been greatly and peculiarly favoured: prior to the French Revolution, our state, physical, intellectual, moral, political, and religious, was far superior to that of any other nation: it required less change, and it admitted of that change being brought about by less violent measures, by the application of less evil and misery: accordingly, while all the other countries that lay within the influence of the French Revolution-the influence either of its power or of its principles were torn by most dreadful evils, this country suffered comparatively little: the obliquity of intellect, the pollution of moral and religious principle, the mass and extent of physical misery, were very trifling compared with the state of the Continent. And from the evils that were actually brought upon this country she emerged much sooner, and derived greater benefit, than the other nations. One of the indirect evils to which sudden and violent changes exposes a nation, is that of re-action; this also was in this country less powerful, injurious, and lasting, than it has been on the Continent. For some time, indeed, we were so haunted by the dread of change, that we seemed to hug our most barefaced errors, rather than acknowledge and remove them : this reaction, however, is fast passing away; and convinced as we now are, that truth and error ought not to rest on the same basis-that the former, in such a case, must be weakened, and that, by using great care and caution, truth may be fixed on its own peculiar foundation, by which operation error must fall to the ground, no longer deriving support from being as it were dovetailed with truth-with this. conviction we may congratulate ourselves, that, having required less vioVOL. XVI.

But, to press more closely and directly on our immediate subject.-The stirring up of the mind which took place during the French Revolution, which went deeper, and acted in a more thorough and forcible manner, than perhaps any preceding event in the history of the human race-gave rise to the demand for more numerous and various publications, as well as for a superior quality in their character and contents. Common-place subjects, treated in a common-place manner, would no longer satisfy the appetite, or afford sufficient nourishment for the rapid growth, of the public mind. Many more thought and read than formerly; and their thoughts were of a more original cast and bearing.

Confining ourselves to periodical works; perhaps the first indication of this elevation and expansion of mind being so urgent, regular, and general, as to demand a corresponding improvement in the character of these publications, may be observed in the Monthly Magazine. Contrast this with the other Magazines, and we shall be immediately and fully sensible that an age which could understand and relish their contents, must previously have advanced considerably in knowledge, power of intellect, and taste. The effects were of various kinds, all tending, however, to the same end,the cultivation of the mind. Magazinereaders embraced a higher class than formerly, who thus were enabled to fill up their leisure moments in a manner to which they were previously strangers. And those who had always been Magazine-readers, though perhaps at first they did not understand and relish the contents of the new one, gradually entered into its spirit: their attention was excited; their minds were set a-working; and attentive and active minds must rise and expand.

The Monthly Magazine, during the vigour of its youthful existence, was well fitted to aid the mental improvement of Magazine-readers: it did not contain much profound and original matter, drawn from the depths of intense thought; it did not lay bare, and 3 X

expose to view, the most delicate workings of the human heart: it laid no claims to that real and rare eloquence, which, generated and nurtured at once and equally by a luxuriant imagination, intense feelings, and the ability to direct and control that imagination, and to depict those feelings in all their vitality and ardour-is the highest attribute of man, considered solely as a being of imagination and feeling. But its pages contained many papers, in which were condensed and exhibited in a perspicuous and popular manner, thoughts, opinions, and reasonings, on those topics which were well calculated to strengthen and expand the intellect, and refine the taste of its readers.

A subordinate point in the character and contents of this Magazine ought to be noticed it gave admission to, and courted, short papers, containing queries and answers to queries on various topics of popular and practical science, literature, domestic economy, &c., which were not of magnitude and importance enough to form the substance of direct and elaborate essays. Thus, much useful and interesting information was communicated to its readers, and many, who were attract ed to its perusal by those short papers on subjects interesting, familiar, and adapted to their minds, or useful to them, in a more practical sense, were naturally and insensibly led to peruse its more literary contents. It was, indeed, during the first stage of its existence, literally and strictly speaking, a Magazine, a repository and storehouse for papers on all subjects that

could interest and instruct all classes of men, in nearly every respect except as regarded their peculiar or professional studies and pursuits. And, even on many of these topics,-not, indeed, in their more recondite and technical departments,-information was frequently communicated.

As, however, readers of periodical works multiplied, a division of labour became indispensably necessary: many classes and descriptions of men, who previously were not sufficiently wellinformed and eager after information to require a periodical publication adapted to their peculiar pursuits, now rose into intellectual importance and influence. And those who might more strictly be called literary men,-men who cultivated their judgment and taste with no ulterior object in view

but the high gratification which they thus secured to themselves, also became more numerous, and required that their Magazine should no longer admit papers, useful and instructive indeed, but devoted to subjects below the level of their intellectual habits and pursuits. Hence the contents of the Magazines became divided; and instead of a Magazine being the repository of papers on a great variety of topics, literary, technical, domestic, &c., it was found that almost every one department was sufficient to support and fill its own peculiar Magazine. Thus, we now see such a variety of these periodical publications: the mechanic, the chemist, the man who dabbles in physic, &c. &c. has his own Magazine, while the weekly pages of the Mirror, and a number besides, which it is needless, and would almost be endless, to enumerate, by the extent of their sale, sufficiently prove the extent of dominion which intellect of some kind and degree at present possesses in this country. It has insinuated itself into every nook and corner; and as, like caloric, it expands whatever it enters into, it must enlarge the capacity of the human mind, create new intellectual desires and wants, and the means of satisfying them.

We have already said, that the literary class of readers were no longer content to possess Magazines only partly devoted to them. The Monthly Magazine had drawn into the class of Magazine readers and writers men of higher talent and attainments than had generally and usually so devoted their leisure before its existence. Such men gradually became more numerous, as well as of higher ambition and aim they could not long remain content with a Magazine only partly devoted to them, nor would they be satisfied with a Magazine, exclusively set apart for them, unless it also rose to a higher elevation of talent. Hence, Magazines necessarily assumed a much more respectable rank in the literature of the country, and numbered among their writers and readers, men who, at a previous period, would have thought themselves degraded by contributing to such works, or who would have anticipated disappointment if they had taken up such works with the expectation of finding in them anything original, or indicating superior talents. This Magazine for which we are

now writing, must, by all, be allowed the merit of having first raised the literary character of these periodical works: however men may differ respecting the political principles it, has defended, and the manner in which it has attacked its political opponents, none can fairly deny it this merit, and it is merit of no common and trifling kind. When we consider the influence of a Magazine of extensive circulation, it surely must be of great consequence that its pages should tend to elevate the intellect of its readers; that they should rise from its perusal, not merely delighted and gratified by a display of fine or eloquent writing, but having their taste purified, their comprehension enlarged, their judgment rendered stronger, and their habits of observation and reflection quickened and confirmed.

If it be observed that papers of a light cast form a large proportion, it should be recollected that the mind as well as the body of man must have its intervals of relaxation and amusement; that papers, even on light topics, if written with talent, wit, or humour, cannot be perused, even as sources of amusement, without setting the mind of the reader to work, or purifying it from some elements of bad taste, prejudice, or error,-and that many, who are entirely attracted to the perusal of a Magazine by such papers, are afterwards insensibly led to the perusal of more substantial papers, and thus gradually obtain a higher order of literary habits. We have hitherto confined our remarks to the advantages readers derive from this improvement in Magazines: but writers also are benefited by it: Many before, who were conscious that they possessed talents and information to interest and instruct, had no means or opportunity of bringing them into exercise; their diffidence, or their occupations, did not permit them to go forth to the world in separate publications:-perhaps what they could communicate, though original and valuable, was not of sufficient magnitude. Previously to the improvement in Magazines, there was no fitting place for their lucubrations; even if they could have condescended to transmit them to the old Magazines, to be there degraded and defiled by papers on an obscure tombstone, on a polish for furniture, or blacking for shoes, they would have been deterred by the reflection, that there they would

be overlooked and undervalued, and never reach the perusal of those who alone were able to understand their purport and appreciate their value.

The example set by this Magazine of ours has been followed by other Magazines; but they have followed us-is it vanity and prejudice, or mere justice and respect for ourselves, which prompts us to say, haud passibus æquis? Still, as fellow-workers in the same field with ourselves—a field which affords ample, unoccupied, and unlaboured ground for all-we must regard them as contributing in their degree to raise the intellect of the country, to increase the number of sound thinkers, and to spread over a wider surface the influence of a correct taste. We speak generally, for we are aware that there are many things very objectionable in them; but we adhere to our creed, that the ultimate and permanent results of the excitement and workings of the mind must be advantageous, and that it is better that men should be led to exercise their mental faculties in a wrong direction and on an erroneous object, than that they should lie dormant and unused. Evil may and will result to the individuals themselves; but even though with them it should never work its own destruction, it must do so, before long, as respects the intellectual and moral habits of the community. Truth requires only light, room, and fair play, to gain the mastery over error.

The change in the character and object of the Reviews was another consequence and proof of an advancement in the intellectual state of the country; and this change reciprocally has tended still farther to improve that state. Till the establishment of the Edinburgh Review, the Reviews were deficient in two grand and essential points. They gave a very loose, imperfect, and careless account of books generally. Some instances there were, indeed, in which the criticism introduced the reader to a clear, full, impartial, and satisfactory knowledge of the contents of the book, and to the manner in which it was executed in respect to talent, information, taste, and style. But these cases were rare. The other desideratum was of a higher class, and not so easily filled up. In our opinion, a Review, to answer the complete purpose of such a publication, ought to contain, not only an accurate and impartial account of the contents