DE QUINCEY'S STUDIES AND ESSAYS. * WE are glad to see
the republication of Mr. De Quincey's works roceeding with tolerable regularity, though the collection has hardly reached that point which would justify us in attempting a collective review. The task of collecting his scattered. produc- tions was peculiarly due from Mr. De Quincey, since with the one exception of Mr. Jeffrey, there has been no great writer of our time, whose labours have been so entirely confined to writing for periodicals. Mr. De Quincey's qualifications for the selfzedi- torial function are indeed of the scantiest. But, fortunately, like othlir of our essayists, he has been at once preceded and stimu- 14ed by transatlantic, editors and publishers, themselves authors
of some reputation, who, in quite another spirit than a piratical
• one, have devoted no ordinary labour and expense to reassembling the scattered monuments of his genius. It is amusing in a note to one of the volumes before us, to find Mr. De Quincey appealing to Messrs. Ticknor and Field for information whether he ever published an essay on a certain subject or not ; and if so, where it is to be found. " It is astonishing," quoth he, " how much more Boston knows of my literary acts and purposes than I do myself." What a pity these Boston friends were not custodians of the " twenty or twenty-fire (unpublished) dreams and noon- day visions," which were reserved as a "crowning grace" to the new edition of the " Opium-Eater," but mysteriously disappeared (Mr. De Quincey is characteristically unable to say how,) before they could be placed in the compositor's hands !
We have not had the luck, rare we suppose in England, to meet with the American edition of Mr. De Quincey's works. But while the English,—or it would be more correct to say the Scotch, —edition has undeniable superiorities, in respect of careful revision by the author, and copious additions throughout, (the " Confessions of an English Opium-Eater," as well as many shorter pieces, may be regarded as entirely rewritten,) we can conceive
* Studies on Secret Records, Personal and Historic, with other Papers. By Thomas De Quincey.
Essays, Sceptical and Anti-Sceptical, on Problems Neglected or Misconceived. By Thomas De Quincey. (Forming Volumes VII. and VIII. of the collected edi- tion of his works.) Published by James Hogg and Sons, Edinburgh. many reasons why every admirer of Mr. De Quincey would. like to have a copy of the American edition on his shelves beside the English set. One of these is, that in the author's own edition we have no indication, unless incidentally, of the time or place where each essay originally appeared. And another is, that Mr. De Quincey, actuated, we suppose, by supersubtleties undiscernible by ordinary readers, has been strangely infelicitous in the ap- portionment into volumes of the essays or sketches which form the bulk of his writings; nay in a few cases, we must say, in the mere selection of pieces for republication. For example that long paper on Dr. Parr, reproduced under the title of " Whiggism in its relations to Literature," is both in its subject and its execution, of no interest or importance to readers of this generation : and yet Mr. De Quincey not only fills one half of his thickest volume with it, but has fondly and elaborately illustrated it with a large body of notes. And all this "much ado "—not much under 200 pages—is about that absolutely "less than nothing," that noisiest of negative quantities, that emptiest and most contemptible of all recorded celebrities, Dr. Parr! Not less questionable is the attempt perceptible throughout, but enhanced on in the more recent issues, to make each volume an in- dependent publication. The volumes are not numbered. ; and it is only by a painful counting of the stars on the back—a symbol of which the meaning may not suggest itself to one reader out of fifty,—that the relative place of each volume in the set can be as- certained. And of course with the accumulation of volumes, arises a parallel increase of baptismal perplexities—trebly disastrous to so thoroughly Shandeaa a progenitor as Mr. De Quincey—until of the volumes before us the titles not only border on the absurd, but, what should touch the self-editor's conscience much more keenly, are absolutely misleading. And if we might whisper a word into the publisher's ear, we would. say they are most un- attractive and unpopular into the bargain.' Or if these titles do attract, it will be only to disappoint. " Studies of Secret Re- cords" ! Who would. suppose that the principal contents of the volume so named were a review of Bentley's life, and an article on Cicero, written with some reference to Middleton ; both excellent papers of their kind, but containing much less of what is peculiar in conception and execution, than we mostly find in an author, one of whose greatest attractions is, that you seldom know what he is going to say on any subject whatever. Two other papers in the volume, "Judas Iscariot" and "Secret Societies," deal with difficult problems enough, and are full of new and suggestive matter. The word "secret" is so far appropriate, but what or where are the " records" to which the epithet is applied ? Mr. De Quincey is above all writers so conscientious as well as so skilful in the use of language, that we marvel at almost as much as we lament the laxness into which in this case his Shandyism has led him. Not much better—some people may think almost worse—is the title of the next volume,—" Essays Sceptical and Anti-Sceptical, on Pro- blems Neglected or Misconceived" ! This may describe well enough one half the articles in the volume ; but its relation to papers on " Walking Stewart," the " Marquis Wellesley," " Schlosser's Literature," or " Finlay's Greece," is too vague and distant to justify making them a part of the bill of fare. Why not continue the simple title of " Miscellanies " under which the third and fourth volumes appeared? There is not a collection in the world which merits the appellation so well, since not only is the variety of the topics discussed perfectly extraordi- nary, but scarce a single article is there of any length which from the frequency and unexpectedness, and sometimes unaccountable- ness of the digressions, might not be regarded as a miscellany in itself. Montaigne himself was not a more incorrigible rambler nor a more inveterate gossip than De Quincey. It will not be supposed that we make these remarks from any feeling of unkindness to a veteran author, to whose writings we are indebted for no little pleasure and instruction, and for whom we have the greatest respect. But we have reason to believe that these editorial vagaries interfere with the popularity of a publi- cation which we fear has sufficient difficulties to contend with, without the creation of supererogatory ones. The occasion of our selecting, what by the symbolic stars would appear to be the seventh and eighth volumes of the collection, for special notice, is that they differ so far from the preceding vo- lumes, that the principal papers in them have more or less of a theological character, even when treating of subjects apparently secular. Mr. De Quincey holds a peculiar and hitherto we fancy little understood. position in regard of subjects of this kind. The friend and companion of Coleridge and Wordsworth, his attention would naturally have been much directed to questions of this class, even if the natural bent of his mind—his innate capacities, no less than his vast acquirements—had not been in that direction. Far more than either of them a fearless thinker and frank writer, he is as sincere a believer, nay we believe we might say pretty nearly as orthodox a churchman as in their latter days they were proud to be reckoned. Those who have read the " Autobio- graphy " will remember the theological exercitations with Lady Carbery, in which the boy De Quincey foreshadowed so nine .n of what the man was to become. Even at that early age he hit upon notions which evinced a wonderful sharpness and ingenuity. It is to be regretted that in after years he has written so little on set theological subjects. But it is not toe much to say, that for originality and suggestiveness, there is nothing in Cole- ridge's writings comparable to some of the interpretations and illustrations which, when opportunity offers, it seems to cost Mr. De Quincey no effort to supply. Take the pa- per on Judas Iscariot for instance. Whether it preceded Dr. Whately's essay to the same purpose, we are without the data to ascertain. But working out a cognate result, we may remark how much more dignified as well as pathetic it is ; how much better suited to carry conviction ; and to instruct, even where it fails to convince. The attempt to explain the statement that Judas's " bowels gushed out" as but a metaphorical expression for his heart being broken, we can only regard as a notable in- stance of supersubtlety. But on the other hand what a flood of light do the remarks in the concluding pages, on the indispens- ableness to Christ's preaching, of his appearing in the character of a hakim, throw upon the whole gospel history. In connexion with this essay ought to be read that in the next volume—" On Miracles as Subjects of Testimony "—written in answer to Hume. Those who are familiar only with the current refutations of one of Hume's most celebrated paradoxes, will be surprised at the novel and effective method in which Mr. De Quincey has grappled with the difficulties of the subject.
Amiable and tolerant to a degree remarkable even in this age of tolerance, Mr. De Quincey has his dislikes like other people, and in expressing them evinces no ordinary talent for polemics. There is wonderful vivacity in his assaults on Conyers Middle- ton, Bishop Warburton, and the historian Josephus, in some of the essays which we have named. The last receives on more than one occasion an awful mauling ; and we are not prepared to say that he does not, to a great extent, merit it. One of Mr. De Quincey's chief grievances against Josephus is his account of the Essenes ; which is declared to be a malicious inven- tion, designed to damage Christianity by showing that there were Christians before Christ. Without taking the extreme view which Mr. De Quincey does, we admit that it is well worth in- quiry whether on this as other matters wherein he had the strong- est motives to deceive, the authority of Josephus has not been too carelessly accepted. The discussion will be found in the second part of the essay on " Secret Societies," supplemented by a note designed to complete the argument.
Well worth attention too is the essay headed " Protestantism " ; but of which, (as Mr. De Quincey's titles seldom indicate the con- tents,) it is necessary to say that it principally deals with questions connected with the inspiration" of the Holy Scriptures. This sug- gests a comparison with Coleridge's " Confessions of an Enquiring Spirit," which forces us again to ask ourselves why has Coleridge become one of the theological lights of the age, while parallel speculations of De Quincey have been left to rust in oblivion ? As regards learning, earnestness, and philosophic insight, the latter is not inferior; in eloquence and originality he is often superior. From a number of admirable passages which we had marked we select one, not that it is better than many others, but because it more easily admits of separation from the context.
" There is another variety of bibliolatry arising in a different way—not upon errors of language incident to human infirmity, but upon deliberate errors indispensable to divine purposes. The case is one which has been considered with far too little attention, else it could never have been thought strange that Christ should comply in things indifferent with popular errors. A few words will put the reader in possession of my view. Speaking of the Bible, Phd. says, ' We admit that its separate parts are the work of frail and fallible human beings. We do not seek to build upon it systems of cosmogony, chronology, astronomy, and natural history. We know no rea- SOn of internal or external probability which should induce us to believe that such matters could ever have been the subjects of direct revelation.' Is that all? There is no reason, certainly, for expectations so unreflecting ; but is there is no adamantine reason against them ? It is no business of the Bible, we are told, to teach science. Certainly not ; but that is far too
i
little. It is an obligation resting upon the Bible, if it is to be consistent with itself, that it should refuse to teach science ; and, if the Bible ever had taught any one art, science, or process of life, capital doubts would have clouded our confidence in the authority of the book. By what caprice, it would have been asked, is a divine mission abandoned suddenly for a human mission ? By what caprice is this one science taught, and others not ? Or these two, suppose, and not all ? But an objection even deadlier would have followed. It is clear as is the purpose of daylight, that the whole body of the arts and sciences composes one vast machinery for the irritation and development of the human intellect. For this end they exist. To see God therefore descending into the arena of science, and contending, as it were, for his own prizes, by teaching science in the Bible, would be to see him intercepting from their self-evident destination, (viz., man's intellectual benefit,) his own problems by solving them dmself. No spectacle could more dishonour the divine idea—could more injure man under the mask of aiding him. The Bible must not teach anything that man can teach himself. Does a doctrine require a revelation ?—then nobody but God can teach it. Does it require none ?—then, in whatever case God has qualified man to do a thing for himself, he has in that very qualification silently laid an in- junction upon man to do it. But it is fancied that a divine teacher, without descending to the unworthy office of teaching science, might yet have kept his own language free from all collusion with human error. Hence, for instance, it has been argued that any language in the Bible implying the earth to be stationary, and central to our system, could not express a mere compliance with the popular errors of the time, but must be taken to indicate the absolute truth. And so grew the anti-Galilean fana- tics. Out of similar notions have risen the absurdities of a polemic Bible chronology, &c. Meantime, if a man sets himself steadily to contemplatethe consequences which must inevitably have followed any deviation from the customary erroneous phraseology of the people, he will Bee the utter impossibi- lity that a teacher (pleading a heavenly mission) could allow himself to deviate by one hair's-breadth (and why should he wish to deviate ?) from the or- dinary language of the times. To have uttered one syllable, for instance, that implied motion in the earth, would have issued into the following ruins—First, it would have tainted the teacher with the reputation of lunacy. Secondly, it would have placed him in this inextricable dilemma. On the one hand, to answer the questions prompted by his own perplexing lairraage, would have opened upon him, as a necessity, one stage after 'II' tiler of scientific cross-examination, until his spiritual mission would have been forcibly swallowed up in the mission of natural philosopher ; but, on the other hand, to pause resolutely at any one stage of this public examination, and to refuse all further advance, would be, in the popular opinion, to retreat as a baffled disputant from insane paradoxes which it had not been found possible to support. One step taken in that direction was fatal, whether the great heavenly envoy retreated from his own words to leave behind the impression that he was defeated as a rash speculator, or stood to these words, and thus fatally entangled himself in the inexhaus- tible succession of explanations and justifications. In either event the spiritual mission was at an end : it would have perished in shouts of derision, from which there could have been no retreat, and no retrieval of character. The greatest of astronomers, rather than seem ostentatious or unseasonably learned, will stoop to the popular phrase of the sun's rising or the sun's motion in the ecliptic. But God, for a purpose commensurate with man's eternal welfare, is by these critics supposed incapable of the same petty ab- stinence."
The latter part of the essay from which we have quoted treats of " Development." Those who have read and reflected the most on that great question, will yet find here much that is new and striking. The Essay on the " Pagan Oracles" merits simi- lar praise. Altogether, separating these two volumes from the general body of Mr. De Quincey's works, we may state it as our deliberate opinion, that no clergyman and no theological student ought to be without them. They are not only highly valuable and interesting in themselves ; but they supply examples of me- thod,—open vistas of improvement in the treatment of theological questions, peculiarly suited to an age like the present, and such as ought to be highly acceptable to those who are weary of the " Greyson."isms and other flippancies which are too much in vogue.
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