OF 69273 MENTAL PHILOSOPHY; CONTAINING A CRITICAL EXPOSITION OF THE PRINCIPAL PHENOMENA AND POWERS OF THE HUMAN MIND. BY LEICESTER AMB BOSE SAWYER, A. M. SECOND EDITION. NEW-YORK: PAINE & BURGESS, No. 60 John-Strect. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, BY LEICESTER AMBROSE SAWYER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. TO REV. SAMUEL HANSON COX, D.D., Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, N. Y. DEAR SIR, HAVING been encouraged by yourself and others, to complete and present to the public, the following work on Mental Philosophy, I beg leave to inscribe it to you, and through you to all who interest themselves in works of this description. You will recognize among its conclusions principles of which you have been a studious disciple and resolute champion during the last thirty years, and in the defence of which you have allied yourself intimately and honorably with the wise and good of both hemispheres, and of all ages. Some may regard any attempt at improvement in this science and any deviation from established and traditionary opinions as an offense deserving the severest rebuke; but you, Dear Sir, and others with whom the Christian spirit is something more than a name, will find in these pages matter for calm and deliberate consideration; and will judge in regard to things supposed to be questionable or new, with candor and impartiality. The nature of the human mind has not been so fully developed that there remains no demand for farther labor in this department of extensive and elevated science; in regard to which, it must be conceded that its utility, its difficulty, and its sublimity are unsurpassed by those of any other science; while it is superior to all others, by embracing, qualifying, and controlling the entire field of rational ideas; since the mind is at once the agent and instrument of all investigation, and without an accurate knowledge of its powers and modes of operation, we are not competent in any of its fields of inquiry, to conduct its processes to the greatest advantage, or prosecute them to their most useful and sublime results. There is a progression in human affairs. Truth is rising in her full orbed splendor, and shedding reviving light on the world. Much of the darkness of past ages is dissipated, and discoveries are daily made which are rapidly changing the entire face and current of human affairs. We are not what we have been, nor are we what we shall be. Our career is onward and upward, and is destined to be onward and upward still, till knowledge, holiness, and happiness shall fill the entire world, and cover it with one vast flood of glory. There are two principles in science, some apprehensions of which have been common to all ages and nations, which are imperfectly developed as yet, but which are destined to a continual and increasing development, till they shall fill the world with light and love. The first of these is the principle that holiness is the means of happiness; and the second that knowledge is the means of holiness. There is little that is original or startling in these announcements; and there is nothing mystical in them, though they are sometimes calumniated and misinterpreted; and to many they have the appearance of truths which are at the same time obvious and inefficient; but in their development there is power. That imaginary holiness, which does not consult for happiness, and this on a scale universal and impartial, is not the holiness of God or the Bible, or of genuine Christianity; and that imperfect knowledge which does not contemplate things in their relations to God and eternity, and to the greatest happiness on the whole, of the entire universe, is not true knowledge, but has the essential characterestics of the most pernicious and ruinous errors. These great truths so much overlooked by the world, and so imperfectly understood even in the Church, appear in the Scriptures with a boldness of relief which seems almost to defy misconception and to preclude debate. The standard of Christ is the standard of holiness as the means of happiness, and of knowledge as the means of holiness. Spread thy bright folds to the breeze glorious symbol, and call the nations around thee! Suffering and oppressed millions implore thine aid; and wait to look on thee and live! Why are thy triumphs so long delayed? And the emancipation of an enslaved world so long deferred? And thou great Lord of glory who hast planted this standard on the mountains, and unfurled it on the seas, regard the tears of thy redeemed ones! Hasten thy long desired coming, and bring forth judgment to victory! Lo he cometh; the brightness of his chariot gleams upon us from afar, and betokens his speedy approach. Let all the earth arise and receive him with glad hosannahs; let men and angels bend the knee and pay him their united homage. God is mustering his hosts for the entire subjugation of the world to truth and righteousness; and its complete emancipation from sin and misery. At his call, it is the privilege of the most feeble to put on the panoply of Christian warfare, and mingle in the conflict; and whoever will, is allowed to come and discharge the duties of the Christian soldier in the promotion of truth and holiness. Hither the weak may bring their feeble contributions; and if any feel within them the kindlings of genius and the earthquake heavings of superior power, hither may they bring their noblest offerings, and consecrate them on the altar of the Universe to the God of love. On this altar I place my offering, such as it is. "Would it were worthier." It is at least an offering of sincerity and good will, though doubtless mingled with imperfections. Hoping that my work may meet your approbation and that of the wise and good universally; but still more that God, for Christ's sake, may be pleased to honor it with his smile, and crown it with his benediction; and requesting a deep interest in your prayers for this end, I am. Dear Sir, your truly affectionate friend and brother, NEW-YORK, APRIL 1, 1846. THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. GENERIC PROPERTIES OF SENSATIONS, EMBRACING THEIR NATURE, 1. Nature and varieties of sensations. 2. Their peculiar quali- 20. Organs of hunger and thirst. 21. Nature of these sensa- 29. Touch. 30. Its purpose. 31. Resistance, how felt. 32. Ideas conditioned on touch. 33. Organ of sight. 34. Mode of vision. 35. Exercise of judgment in vision. 36. Organ of hearing. 37. Sensation of sound. 38. Varieties of sound. 39. Uses of sound in music and speech. 40. Sounding nature of bodies relative to the ear. 41. Nature of music. |