tion, and covered with various instruments of science and articles of curiosity, which had been presented by different persons. There was a pair of globes; an electrical machine; three cases of stuffed birds, and one of reptiles; five glass bottles, hermetically sealed, containing preparations in spirits; specimens of minerals, duly labelled with the names of the donor and the place from which they were brought; there were specimens of coal from Newcastle, slate from Penrhyn, tin-ore from Cornwall: then there were various interesting antiquities, and other miscellaneous objects, -a brick from Babylon, a veritable portion of the coctilis murus built by Semiramis; bows and arrows from Otaheite; a broken terra-cotta vase from Sicily; and a calf with two heads, which was produced in farmer Yolkham's cow-house. In addition to these, the president presented the institution with an ancient bust, which had been dug up in his own garden, and from the shape of the nose was generally considered to represent one of the Roman emperors, though others contended that the peculiar conformation of the nasal organ arose from some injury which it had received either by time or violence.

Mr. Sprightly, the secretary, made many apologies for the imperfect manner in which the specimens were arranged, in consequence, as he said, of the numerous presentations of valuable articles which had been recently received,—and certainly some apology was needed; for amongst other mistakes, the label which ought to have been on the Roman emperor was stuck on the calf's head, and that intended for the calf's head was on the Roman emperor. However, all passed off very good-humouredly; and when all the things had been duly examined and admired, the president proclaimed silence, and requested Mr. Walton to deliver his lecture. Mr. Walton accordingly rose, and spoke as follows :

CHAPTER VI.

MR. WALTON'S LECTURE TO THE MECHANICS' INSTITUTE, on THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF CIVILISATION, THE MARCH OF INTELLECT, AND OTHER IMPORTANT MATTERS.

There is a book, who runs may read,
Which heavenly truth imparts,
And all the lore its scholars need,
Pure eyes and Christian hearts.

The works of God, above, below,
Within us and around,
Are pages in that book, to shew
How God himself is found.

KEBLE.

MR. PRESIDENT, Ladies, and Gentlemen, THOUGH Well aware that there are gentlemen present far better qualified than myself to communicate to you information on scientific and philosophical subjects-which will be the general character of lectures delivered from this place,-yet, at the request of your committee, I have been induced to address you on the present occasion, relying on your kind indulgence; and also because I am assured that I may be allowed to enter upon a more common range of topics, and such as are connected rather with the general subject of philosophy and literature, than on any particular department of science.

It is therefore my intention to employ the occasion in laying before you such remarks as may be likely to interest the company now assembled, on the Origin and Progress of Civilisation; (hear, hear!) a subject which appears to me to be of no slight importance at the present time. It is certainly most desirable that we should possess a competent know

ledge of the actual and comparative state of civilisation and intellectual advancement in the present day; so that, while we rightly appreciate the advantages which we possess, we may not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but may think soberly and justly.

First, then, as to the origin of civilisation.

Many theories have been broached by philosophers upon this subject; some almost too absurd to mention, except for the purpose of shewing into what crude and strange fancies even clever men will fall, if they wander from the principles of right reason, religion, and common sense.

I remember reading the work of a French philosopher of the last age, —one of those who rejected revelation, and paved the way for the French Revolution. His notion was something of this sort. He supposed that the human race is continually in a progressive state, without any intervention of a superior power. Man, he imagined, as we now see him, had arrived at his present state of intellectual attainment from the lowest possible state of existence. The first beings endowed with life he supposed to have been certain monads, or unorganised lumps of jelly the monad feels a desire to change his situation, or to lay hold on something near him; this desire generates a disposition to organic change, and he is enabled gradually to put forth, first a leg, and then an arm, and then to open an eye, and so on; until, in process of time, these impulses of mind upon matter have produced the organic development of the animal race; and the monad, or lump of jelly, comes at last to be a full-grown man. (great laughter.) To what degree of improvement we may hope at length to attain by this process, does not appear. There was another theory started by a Scotch metaphysician, called Lord Monboddo. He considered

that men were originally monkeys, but that they had worn their tails off by continually sitting on their haunches, and, from wearing clothes, had become smooth instead of shaggy. (renewed laughter.)

These things I mention, to shew what laughable gentlemen philosophers are, when they indulge in vain imaginings, and reject those aids which are afforded by historical records, especially such as are found in the Sacred Volume. And if the fanciful notions which I have just described have now died away, as it was most natural they should, still I fear they have been succeeded by others scarcely less absurd, and proceeding from the same source. For instance, what a reckless disregard was exhibited by the first promulgators of geological science, both Wernerians and Huttonians, whether their jarring and ephemeral theories coincided with scriptural truth or not. Had they been humble-minded men, they would have concluded that philosophical truth would certainly be found in harmony with Scripture; for truth cannot contradict truth. And although at first sight we may not be able to discern their agreement, yet we may either hope that patient inquiry will remove the difficulty—as, indeed, it has proved in the case of geology—or, even if we are unable to discover the explanation, we may set it down to the score of our want of capacity, and have no reason to be at all surprised.

But, in truth, the theories of Lord Monboddo and the French philosopher, whose name I forget, are not altogether unlike those which are still held by the sceptical and latitudinarian school. The received notion amongst such persons seems to be, that men, in their original state, are little better than brutes, living on roots and acorns: after a while they learn to subdue and tame animals; then to till the earth: then, finding the necessity of laws for the

protection of property, they form themselves into a society, and elect a chief, to whom they delegate a certain portion of authority. Order and security being thus obtained, they advance in arts and civilisation, until by slow degrees they arrive, through their own exertion, at the highest possible pitch of intellectual refinement, and are able to construct railroads and steam-engines! Something like this appears to be the vulgar notion about the progress of civilisation, and the march of intellect which one hears so much about in the present age.

But, in the first place, what a degrading thing it is to suppose ourselves to be the descendants of ouran-outangs, or wild men of the woods! (hear, hear!) Without being accused of any great pride of ancestry, we may surely claim a nobler descent than this. Moreover, for our comfort, all history informs us, with concurrent voice, that arts and civilisation are of very ancient date. How many monuments and remains of ancient cities have been discovered, which prove the existence, in very remote times, of powerful and wealthy communities. Take the tower of Belus, or the temples and pyramids of Egypt, for instance. Why, when the obelisk which stands opposite St. Peter's at Rome was brought there from Egypt, it was a long time before they were able to set it in the upright position in which they found it. Even here in England, what combination of means, as well as skill, must have been exerted to place the enormous stones, which form the druidical temple at Stonehenge, in the middle of Salisbury plain. In fact, it has puzzled wiser men than many of our modern philosophers, to know how they got there at all. Look again at the round towers in Ireland, the date of which is far older than the memory of man, and the uses of which it is impossible to discover ;-these have been found the