Gents Mag 1850 part 1 p.617
|
|
|
|
|
introduction | ||
|
|
list, 3rd qtr 19th century | ||
|
|
previous page
next page |
||
Gentleman's Magazine 1850 part 1 p.617
P.105. "It gives me very great pleasure to hear that you have engaged for a genuine version of the Arabian Nights,- which I consider one of the greatest desideratums in modern Oriental literature."This desideratum has been supplied by Mr. Lane from MS. and also by Mr. Henry Torrens from the Arabic of an Egyptian MS. as edited by Mr. W. H. Macnaughten, Calcutta, 1838. This MS. was purchased from the heirs of Mr. Salt, British consul in Egypt. It contains the full number of one thousand and one nights, with many tales entirely new to European readers. It is interspersed with poetry, and it is considered to be one of the most perfect copies hitherto found. On Mr. Lane's translation the reader may consult with advantage Mr. Henry Bohn's Catalogue, 1847, vol.i. p.66, &c. P.108. "Mr. Park could supply the poets, and, indeed, manage the whole better than any other person."Mr. Thomas Park, editor of a small edition of the British Poets, of the Heliconia, &c.; his notes are also incorporated into the last edition of Warton's History of English Poetry, of which work he once intended continuation. His knowledge of curious and rare books of poetry was very considerable. He died in 1835. P.128. "K. James, who is the best (of the Scotch poets) has not been well edited; Blind Harry but badly; Dunbar, and many others, are not to be procured," &c.Since this was written, 1807, the poems of William Dunbar, the greatest poet that Scotland has produced, have been edited with learning and diligence by David Laing, esq. in 2 vols. 1834, with a memoir of the poet and copious illustrations. "This darling of the Scottish muses (says Sir Walter Scott) has been justly raised to a level with Chaucer by every judge of poetry to whom his obsolete language has not rendered him unintelligible." P.180. "He (Wordsworth) is about to write a pamphlet upon this precious convention (of Cintra), which he will place in a more philosophical point of view than any body has yet done."Of this pamphlet we heard Mr. Canning say, that he considered it the most eloquent production of the kind since the days of Burke. list, P.188. "I hope Malthus will not be a contributor (to the Qtrly Review). His main principle is that God makes men and women faster than He can feed them, and he calls upon Government to stop the breed," &c.This is unlike Malthus's doctrine as the wrong side of a piece of tapestry is unlike the right. What he really says is as follows: - "I never have recommended, nor ever shall, any other means than those of explaining to the labouring classes the manner in which their interests are affected by too great an increase in their numbers, and of removing or weakening the positive laws which tend to discourage habits of prudence and foresight." See Principles of Political Economy, p.420. One who always wrote with due care and consideration of his subject says, speaking of Mr. Malthus, "A more philosophical candour, calm love of truth, and ingenious turn for speculation in his important branch, I have seldom met with. It is quite delightful to find how closely he has taught himself to examine the circumstances of the lower classes of society, and what a scientific turn he gives to the subject." See Life of Horner, vol.ii. p.406. Doctor Samuel Parr adds the weight of his testimony when he says, speaking of this work of Malthus, "Gladly do I bestow the tribute of my commendation on the general merits of this work, in soundness of matter, accuracy of reasoning, elegance of diction, and usefulness of effect. I admit unequivocally the fundamental principles of the writer, that by those general laws of nature which constitute all our experience, and therefore should regulate all our inquiries, 'Population, under certain circumstances, will increase in a geometrical proportion, and the produce of the earth in an arithmetical only," &c. Vide Spital Sermon, p.142. Had we space, and if it were necessary, we could erect a heavy battery of authorities on the same side of the subject; but the reader who is interested in it will be more gratified in his own researches into the works of Humboldt and Sismondi and other writers. We add one short but weighty authority. "La population croit en raison geometrique, et n'a point de bornes. Les subsistances croissent en raison arith- |
|||
|
|
next page | ||
|
|
|||
Lakes Guides menu.