Take, for instance, the following: Proverbs are the wrought diamonds of literature. A few words dovetailed together form, as it were, the Corinthian pillar that supports the whole edifice of thought. They are rubies that sparkle and emeralds that shine. They embody the condensed wisdom of a thousand generations. Your professional essayist would take this passage, and after expanding and repeating the thought contained in the first sentence, would close with that sentence as a quotation. In like manner he would amplify the second sentence into a paragraph and so on for a couple of pages. O that we too had this art of arts, this happy art of writing! Though spurious quotation in all its forms is highly reprehensible, the usefulness of quotation in general is evident. Suppose it was necessary to act and the question was, How am 1 to get well off with being called a liar, without knocking a man on the head and getting my own broken in return? It would only be necessary to remember the conduct and reply of Falstaff on a similar occasion. Suppose we are pressed by some fair one to fulfill a promise which we have made in a gayer mood, and wish to get well off without being so abrupt as to forfeit her esteem and good wishes for the future. It is only necessary to remember the remonstrance of a certain dame and Falstaff's reply. These are but isolated instances and might easily be multiplied. I need not adduce more. I think that what has already been said is sufficient to cause the sale of a hundred long, thick blank books and lead pencils, and to cause the midnight oil to sing and sputter, till something is accomplished in this direction.

FANATICISM.

HAT is fanaticism? Orators have often raised their voices against that irremediable evil; statesmen have often denounced it; philosophers have often devoted many pages to declaim against it, assuming, as it were, the responsible duty of exterpating it and banishing it from the earth. We have repeatedly seen examples of it. We have repeatedly striven to "stem a tide which could not be checked," but when we

come to be placed in a similar position, we also have been carried onward in that whirlpool of enthusiasm and excitement. What then is it? Fanaticism is a strong excitement of a mind powerfully acted upon by a false or exaggerated opinion. Now that the world has been brought to an enlightened state, fanaticism has lessened in a considerable degree. It has usually been associated with religious matters, but the term has become so broad in its signification as to be applied to anything with which it may be logically connected. The origin of fanaticism may be said to consist in the fact that men, when once impressed with an idea, devote their whole time and attention to the realization of it, disregarding every thing else, even though it be a great sacrifice to them. In order to understand this idea, and to fully grasp at its meaning, one must become acquainted with the times, and the effect that that idea, when fully plan- · ned and communicated to them, would have upon the people of those times. So there are a good many instances on record where fanaticism has wrought innumerable successes. Mahomet has always been considered in all ages as a religious enthusiast, a fanatic. The religious sentiments which he really and earnestly felt, when addressing the peasant tribes of Arabia, were those of a man who admitted no foundation for any other religion and belief but the one he was endeavoring to establish and propagate. These tribes were ignorant; they had never had any opportunity to come into contact with any people, either in war or in peace, that were noted for any polish of manner, or refinement of custom, or any literary or scientific attainments. Their minds were as barren as the soil they daily trod on. The only arguments he used were these: "You are here in the desert committing depradations on each other's property, threatening to destroy one another at the earliest opportunity. Why not join your hands in fraternal affection and follow me? I will give you riches and preferments in this and secure your salvation in the next world. There is but one God, and Mahomet is his prophet." With these advantages thus offered them, added also to the beauty of his person (which was very remarkable) and his flowing eloquence, which made an irresistible impression on his hearers, he induced them to follow him.

His appearance is thus described by an eminent historian: "Before he spoke, the orator engaged on his side the affections of a public or private audience. They applauded his commanding presence, his majestic aspect, his piercing eye, his gracious smile, his flowing beard, his countenance that painted every sensation of the soul, and his gestures that enforced each expression of the tongue. The son of Abdallah was educated in the bosom of the noblest race, in the use of the purest dialect in Arabia; and the fluency of his speech was corrected and enhanced by the practice of discreet and seasonable silence." Another writer thus eulogizes him: "How criminal soever Mahomet may have been in enforcing a false religion on mankind, the praises due to his real virtues ought not to be denied here; nor can I do otherwise than applaud the candor of the pious and learned Spanhemius, who, though he owned him to have been a wicked impostor, yet acknowledged him to have been richly furnished with natural endowments, beautiful in his person, of a subtle wit, agreeable behaviour, showing liberality to the poor, courtesy to every one, fortitude against his own crimes, and above all a high reverence for the name of God; severe against the perjured, adulterers, murderers, slanderers, prodigals, covetous, false witnesses, &c., a great preacher of patience, charity, mercy, benificence, gratitude, honoring of parents and superiors, and a frequent celebrator of the divine praises."

Could it be doubted that so many personal charms and such a powerful degree of oratory, added to a violent religious zeal, could fail to produce an impression on the hearers, especially when they formed part of a class of people, who were totally deficient in religious principles and sentiments? They immediately flocked to his standard; from all quarters they rushed, until that little band, which marked the success of his first endeavors, gradually accumulated, swelled itself into a grand army, which for courage, strength and bravery has never yet been surpassed. They followed him with a blind zeal, and reposed in him the greatest confidence, which could never be abated under any circumstances, not even after the severest

checks which they experienced. His principles, most of them were incapable of understanding; but his eloquence swayed their minds, and made them place the most implicit trust in him. Violent fits, to which he was constantly addicted, they mistook for heavenly inspirations. Legends, which were ascribed to him by his successors, completed the grand enterprise which it had been his ambition to have accomplished during his life time. Mahomet himself did not claim the power of working miracles; and while the vulgar are intensely amused with, and fully credit these marvellous fables concerning him, the wisest and greatest doctors of the Mussulman faith imitate the modesty of their master, and indulge a latitude of belief or interpretation.

But his successors, impelled by fanatical zeal for the success of their new religion, and prompted by ambition, invented them in order to inspire the soldiers with that same ardor and enthusiasm for such a holy cause, which, they pretended, filled their own breasts. It is altogether unnecessary to go into detail in order to state the reasons for which the people joined Mahomet's standard; for they are many and various, and it is not the object of the writer to discuss them at full length; but let us not be prejudicial in our opinions of that famous man, and let us well and distinctly remember that it was not always by the sword that Mahomet converted people. Let us now draw aside (for we have already spoken sufficiently on that side of the subject) and view the state of affairs just when Peter the Hermit, who was destined to play a prominent role on the world's stage, appeared in Europe, and exhorted the Christian nations to wrest the Holy Sepulchre from the sway of the Mussulmans, into whose hands it had but a few years previously fallen.

The wars of the Crusades have been the theme of much comment and blame. We behold therein men leaving their wives, children and dearest relations to engage in a bloody conflict with the hardened and inured veterans of the East, in order to seize from their hands the sepulchre of Him who died for the redemption of mankind. In a certain sense, one cannot but admire those brave men, who willingly forsook, per

haps forever, those pleasures and luxuries which it had been their wont to daily enjoy and experience; to leave every thing that was dearest and best to them, in order to go forth and combat, and shed their blood in the Holy Cause of Religion. This is the general appearance and charm which the Crusades wear in ones own estimation, without going into an investigation of the origin and causes of it. But the romance soon disappears; for when we make a special and careful inquiry into the facts which led to such an expedition being undertaken, our mind is soon completely metamorphosed. Admiration gives way to disgust; the noble deeds of the Crusaders are considerably lowered in our eyes. To drive the Mussulmans away from Jerusalem was a mania with them; superstition was prominent according to the spirit of the times; and those who thus ventured to brave the sultry and oppressive climate of the East, and expose their bodies to the envenomed javelins and arrows of the Asiatic warriors, were induced to participate in this bloody conflict, which almost annihilated the whole of Christendom, by promises of absolution for their past offences, and future rewards of heavenly enjoyment and glory, which they would undoubtedly acquire by fighting in the holy cause of religion. The poor and the rich mingled together in one mass; the former, ignorant in their superstition, seized and took advantage of the opportunity to show their fervor and love for their Church and Saviour; the latter, prompted by ambition, saw in the dim future brilliant prospects for enriching themselves and acquiring new and fresh laurels on the field of battle. Above all, towered fanaticism, harsh, cruel and vindictive. Similarly to Mahomet, this ardent and enthusiastic enterprise was created by the fanaticism of a hermit, named Peter. "When he (Peter) started from the shade of obscurity, his small and mean person was macerated by austerities; his face was thin and care-worn; but his eye spoke thought and feeling, and atoned for the general insignificance of his appearance." **He fancied himself invested with divine authority, and what in truth was but the vision of a heated mind, he believed it to be a communication from Heaven. His dress