to be more widely informed than the Samos, who it is asserted developed the Chaldeans, in order to be able to contra-discoveries of the Chaldeans in regard to the motion of the earth and other planets, he is so obscure, that Wallace has been obliged to play the commentator from one end of him to the other, in order to render him intelligible.

dict the apparent testimony of the senses in regard to the celestial appearances; that it required not only the most refined experimental observation, but the most profound mathematical science; as also the indispensible aid of telescopes, without which it is impossible to discover the phases of Venus, which prove her course round the sun, or to discover the spots in the sun, which demonstrate his motion round his own almost immoveable axis.

Finally, it is very much to be doubted whether the book, attributed to this Aristarchus of Samos, really belongs to him. It has been strongly suspected that the enemies of the Newtonian philosophy have constructed this forgery in favour of their casuist. It is not only in respect to old charters that similar forgeries are resorted

Another reason, not less strong, is, that of all those who have attributed this discovery to Pythagoras, no one can pos-to. This Aristarchus of Samos is also itively say how he treated it.

the more to be suspected, as Plutarch accuses him of bigotry, and malevolent hypocrisy, in consequence of being im

Samian said, "that the Greeks ought to punish Cleanthes of Samos, who suggested that the heavens were immoveable, and that it is the earth which travels through the zodiac by turning on its

Diogenes Laertius, who lived about nine hundred years after Pythagoras, teaches us, that according to this grand philoso-bued with a direct contrary opinion. The pher, the number ONE was the first prin- following are the words of Plutarch, in his ciple, and that from Two sprang all piece of absurdity entitled "The round numbers; that body has four elements-Aspect of the Moon.' Aristarchus the fire, water, air, and earth; that light and darkness, cold and heat, wet and dry, are equally distributed; that we must not eat beans; that the soul is divided into three parts; that Pythagoras had formerly been Atalides, then Euphorbus, after-axis." wards Hermotimus; and finally, that this great man studied magic very profoundly. Diogenes says not a word concerning the true system of the world, attributed to this Pythagoras; and it must be confessed, that it is by no means to an aversion to beans that we owe the calculations which at present demonstrate the motion of the earth and planets generally.

The famous Arian Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea, in his Evangelical Preparation, expresses himself thus-"All the philosophers declare that the earth is in a state of repose; but Philolaus, the peripatetic, thinks that it moves round fire in an oblique circle, like the sun and the moon."

They will tell me, that even this passage proves that the system of Copernicus was already in the head of Cleanthes and others. What imports it whether Aristarchus the Samian was of the opinion of Cleanthes, or his accuser, as the jesuit Skeiner was subsequently of Galileo's? It equally follows, that the true system of the present day was known to the ancients.

1 reply No; but that a very slight part of this system was vaguely surmised by heads better organized than the rest.

further answer, that it was never received or taught in the schools, and that it never formed a body of doctrine. Attentively peruse this Face of the Moon' of This gibberish has nothing in common Plutarch, and you will find, if you look for with the sublime truths taught by Coper-it, the doctrine of gravitation; but the true nicus, Galileo, Kepler, and above all by author of a system is he who demonstrates Newton.

As to the pretended Aristarchus of
VOL II-104.

it.

We will not take away from Copernicus

X

522

TABOR, OR THABOR. TALISMAN.—TARTUFFE—TARTUFERIE.

the honour of this discovery. Three or four words brought to light in an old author, which exhibit some distant glimpse of his system, ought not to deprive him of the glory of the discovery.

Let us admire the great rule of Kepler, that the revolutions of the planets round the sun are in proportion to the

cubes of their distances.

Let us still more admire the profundity, the justness, and the invention of the great Newton, who alone discovered the fundamental reasons of these laws unknown to all antiquity, which have opened the eyes of mankind to a new heaven.

themselves, spit their venom spor si who by their productions do babour t their country and benefit mankind.

TABOR, OR THABOR

A FAMOUS mountain in Judes de

alluded to in general conversation. I Got true that this mountain is a lesge and a half high, as mentioned in cerza dictionaries. There is no mounts a Judea so elevated; Tabor is not mot than six hundred feet high, but it appears loftier, in consequence of its situation a a vast plain.

The Tabor of Bohemia is still more ce (lebrated by the resistance which the i perial armies encountered from Ziske It is from thence that they have given the name of Tabor to entrenchments formed with carriages.

The Taborites, a sect very similar to th Hussites, also take their name from the

latter mountain.

TALISMAN.

Petty compilers are always to be found, who dare to become the enemies of their age. They string together passages from Plut rch and Athenaus, to prove that we have no obligations to Newton, to Halley, and to Bradley. They trumpet forth the glory of the ancients, whom they pretend have said everything; and they are so imbecile as to think that they divide the glory by publishing it. They twist an expression of Hippocrates, in order to TALISMAN, an Arabian word, signifies persuade us that the Greeks were ac- properly consecration. The same thing quainted with the circulation of the blood as telesma,' or 'philactery,' a preserve better than Harvey. Why not also as- tive charm, figure, or character: a supersert, that the Greeks were possessed of stition which has prevailed at all thes better muskets and field-pieces; that and among all people. It is usually e they threw bomb-shells farther, had bet- sort of medal, cast and stamped und ter printed books, and much finer enthe ascendancy of certain constellanos gravings? That they excelled in oil-The famous talisman of Catherine de Mepainting, possessed looking-glasses of crystal, telescopes, microscopes, and thermometers? All this may be found out by men, who assure us that Solomon, who possessed not a single sea-port, sent fleets to America, and so forth.

One of the greatest detractors of modern times, is a person named Dutens, who finished by compiling a libel, as infamous as insipid, against the philosophers of the present day. This libel is entitled the Tocsin;' but he had better have called it his clock, as no one came to his aid; and he has only tended to increase the number of the Zoilusses, who, being unable to produce anything

dicis still exists.

TARTUFFE-TARTUFERIE.

TARTUFFE, a name invented by Molière, and now adopted in all the languages of Europe to signify hypocrites, who make use of the cloak of religion. "He is a Tartuffe; he is a true Tartuffe."

Tartuferie, a new word formed from Tartuffe the action of a hypocrite, the behaviour of a hypocrite, the knavery i a false devotee; it is often used in the disputes concerning the bull Unigenites.

TASTE.

SECTION I.

A depraved taste in food is gratified with that which disgusts other people: it is a species of disease. A depraved taste in the arts is to be pleased with sub

THE taste, the sense by which we dis-jects which disgust accomplished minds, tinguish the flavour of our food, has produced in all known languages the metaphor expressed by the word 'taste'-a feeling of beauty and defects in all the arts. It is a quick perception, like that of the tongue and the palate, and in the same manner anticipates consideration. Like the mere sense, it is sensitive and luxuriant in respect to the good, and rejects the bad spontaneously; in a similar way, it is often uncertain, divided, and even ignorant whether it ought to be pleased: lastly, and to conclude the resemblance, it sometimes requires to be formed and corrected by habit and experience.

and to prefer the burlesque to the noble, and the finical and the affected to the simple and natural: it is a mental disease. A taste for the arts is, however, much more a thing of formation than physical taste; for although in the latter we sometimes finish by liking those things, to which we had in the first instance a repugnance, nature seldom renders it necessary for men in general to learn what is necessary to them in the way of food, whereas intellectual taste requires time to duly form it. A sensible young man may not, without science, distinguish at once the different parts of a grand choir of music; in a fine picture, his eyes at first sight may not perceive the gradation, the chiaroscuro perspective, agreement of colours, and correctness of design; but by little and little his ears will learn to

To constitute taste, it is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it. Neither will it suffice to feel and be affected in a confused or ignorant man-hear and his eyes to see. He will be afner; it is necessary to distinguish the different shades; nothing ought to escape the promptitude of its discernment: and this is another instance of the resemblance of taste, the sense, to intellectual taste; for an epicure will quickly feel and detect a mixture of two liquors, as the man of taste and connoisseur will, with a single glance, distinguish the mixture of two styles, or a defect by the side of a beauty. He will be enthusiastically moved with this verse in the Horatii :

fected at the first representation of a fine tragedy, but he will not perceive the merit of the unities, nor the delicate management which allows no one to enter or depart without a sufficient reason, nor that still greater art which concentrates all the interests in a single one; nor, lastly, will he be aware of the difficulties overcome. It is only by habit and reflection, that he arrives spontaneously at that which he was not able to distinguish in the first instance. In a similar way, a national taste is gradually formed where it existed not before, because by degrees the spirit of the best artists is duly imHe feels involuntary disgust at the fol- bibed. We accustom ourselves to look lowing:

Que voulez vous qu'il fit contre trois ?---Qu'il mourut!
What have him do 'gainst three?---Die!

at pictures with the eyes of Le Brun, Poussin, and Le Sueur. We listen to musical declamation from the scenes of Quinault with the ears of Lulli, and to the airs and accompaniments with those of Rameau. Finally, books are read in the spirit of the best authors.

If an entire nation is led, during its early culture of the arts, to admire authors

is still more abandoned. Taste lees it-
self amidst this succession of noveltie;
the last one of which rapidly effaces the
other; the public loses its whereabo
and regrets in vain the flight of the of
good taste, which will return no
although a remnant of it is still preserved
by certain correct spirits, at a distance
from the crowd.

There are vast countries in which taste has never existed: such are they in which society is still rude, where the sexes have little general intercourse, and where o tain arts, like sculpture and the painting of animated beings, are forbidden by re ligion. Where there is little general

abounding in the defects and errors of the age, it is because these authors possess beauties which are admired by every body, while at the same time readers are not sufficiently instructed to detect the imperfections. Thus, Lucilius was prized by the Romans, until Horace made them forget him; and Regnier was admired by the French, until the appearance of Boileau; and if old authors who stumble at every step have, notwithstanding, attained great reputation, it is because purer writers have not arisen to open the eyes of their national admirers, as Horace did those of the Romans, and Boileau those of the French. It is said that there is no disputationtercourse, the mind is straitened, its edge upon taste, and the observation is correct in respect to physical taste, in which the repugnance felt to certain aliments, and the preference given to others, are not to be disputed, because there is no correc-port, as they go hand in hand, and rest tion of a defect of the organs. It is not the same with the arts which possess actual beauties, which are discernible by a good taste, and unperceivable by a bad one; which last, however, may frequently be improved. There are also persons with a coldness of soul, as there are defective minds; and in respect to them, it is of little use to dispute concerning pre-opinions, manners, and customs. dilections, as they possess none.

Taste is arbitrary in many things, as in raiment, decoration, and equipage, which however scarcely belong to the department of the fine arts, but are rather affairs of fancy. It is fancy rather than taste which produces so many new fashions.

is blunted, and nothing is possessed in which a taste can be formed. Where several of the fine arts are wanting, the remainder can seldom find sufficient sup

one upon the other. On this account, the Asiatics have never produced fine arts in any department, and taste is cu fined to certain nations of Europe.

SECTION II.

Is there not a good and a bad tas Without doubt; although men difer a

The best taste in every species of cul tivation, is to imitate nature with the highest fidelity, energy, and grace.

But is not grace arbitrary! No, since it consists in giving animation and sweetness to the objects represented.

Between two men, the one of whom is gross, and the other refined, it will readily be allowed that one possesses more gritt than the other.

Taste may become vitiated in a nation, a misfortune which usually follows a period of perfection. Fearing to be called Before a polished period arose, Vedure, imitators, artists seek new and devious who in his rage for embroidering nothing, routes, and fly from the pure and beauti-was occasionally refined and agreeable, ful nature of which their predecessors wrote some verses to the great Conde have made so much advantage. If there upon his illness, which are still regarded is merit in these labours, this merit veils as very tasteful, and among the best of their defects, and the public in love with this author. novelty, runs after them, and becomes disgusted, which makes way for still rainor efforts to please, in which nature

At the same time, L'Etoile, who passed for a genius-L'Etoile, one of the five authors who constructed tragedies for

dinal Richelieu-made some verses,
ch are printed at the end of Malherbe
Racan. When compared with those
Voiture referred to, every reader will
w that the verses of Voiture are the
luction of a courtier of good taste,
those of L'Etoile the labour of a
se and unintellectual pretender.
t is a pity that we can gift Voiture
1 occasional taste only: his famous
er from the carp to the pike, which
›yed so much reputation, is a too ex-
led pleasantry, and in passages exhi-
g very little nature. Is it not a
ture of refinement and coarseness, of
true and the false? Was it right to
to the great Condé, who was called
pike' by a party among the cour-
3, that at his name the whales of the
h perspired profusely, and that the
jects of the emperor had expected to
and to eat him with a grain of salt?
s it proper to write so many letters,
y to show a little of the wit which
sists in puns and conceits?

Are we not disgusted, when Voiture
3 to the great Condé, on the taking
Dunkirk "I expect you to seize the
on with your teeth."

Una voce pennuta, un suon volante,
E vestito de penne, un vivo fiato,
Una piuma canora, un canto alato,
Un spiritel che d'armonia composto
Vive in auguste viscere nacosto.

The bad taste of Balzac was of a different description; he composed familiar letters in a fustian style. He wrote to the Cardinal de la Valette, that neither in the deserts of Lybia, or in the abyss of the sea, there was so furious a monster as the sciatica; and that if tyrants, whose memory is odious to us, had instruments of cruelty in their possession equal to the sciatica, the martyrs would have endured them for their religion.

These emphatic exaggerations-these long and stately periods, so opposed to the epistolary style-these fastidious declamations, garnished with Greek and Latin, concerning two middling sonnets, the merits of which divided the court and the town, and upon the miserable tragedy of Herod the infanticide,'-all indicate a time and a taste which were yet to be formed and corrected. Even Cinna,' and the Provincial Letters,' which astonished the nations, had not yet

Voiture apparently acquired this false e from Marini, who came into France h Mary of Medicis. Voiture and Cas-cleared away the rust. frequently cite him as a model in As an artist forms his taste by degrees, ir letters. They admire his descrip- so does a nation. It stagnates for a long of the rose, daughter of April, virgin{time in barbarism; then it elevates itself queen, seated upon a thorny throne, feebly, until at length a noon appears, ending majestically a flowery sceptre, after which we witness nothing but a long ing for courtiers and ministers the and melancholy twilight. orous family of the zephyrs, and weara crown of gold and a robe of scar

It has long been agreed, that in spite of the solicitude of Francis I. to produce Ia taste in France for the fine arts, this taste was not formed until towards the age of Louis XIV., and we already begin to complain of its degeneracy.

The Greeks of the lower empire confess, that the taste which reigned in the days of Pericles was lost among them, and the modern Greeks admit the same thing.

Quintilian allows that the taste of the Romans began to decline in his days.