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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 K 1 0' V THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LITERATURE AND COMMERCE. ly TWO ESSAYS, READ BEFOBK Cfie Eitetarg antj ?^t»tcrical Societg of Coronto. BY W. SCOTT BUKN, ESQ. PUBLISHED FOR THE SOCIETY. TORONTO: H. & W. ROWSELL M I>CCC XLV. /4 M ^ THE CONNECTION BET iVEEN LITERATURE AND COMMERCE. IN TWO ESSAYS, READ BEFORE ^^e Utteratfi antr J^istotical Societfi of Toronto. BY W. SCOTT BUIIN, ESQ. PUBLISHED FOR THE SOCIETY. TORONTO: II. & W. ROWS ELL. M DCCC XLV. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LITEKATURE AND COMMERCE. ESSAY I. WuETi I was asked to read before the Literary and Historical Society, an essay upon this subject, I thought that it was far too coniphcated to be considered in one, or even two, essays. But, upon reflection, I con- sidered that, though I might not be able to stretch out before you every link of the chain which connects literature and commerce, I might yet be able to unfold it here and there. If, from being done hurriedly, this be done imperfectly, I must rely upon your kindness for my excuse. To understand rightly the connection between literature and commerce, we ought to examine it in different li-hts. We shall do this most easily, if we take it up from two points of view, corresponding to the two mean- ings which the word literature usually bears in our language. Dr. Johnson defines literature to mean "learning, a desire of know- ledcre ;" or, in other words, the acquirement of those attainments which can" be gaincc' only by active studiousness of mind, and the possession of Buch feelings, by the community around us, as will lead society to appre- ciate those attainments. But literature may also be understood to mean what we more generally call belles Icttres, on the art of pohshmg and fitting together those ideas which this active studiousress of mmd has already put in our possession. These two significations of the word may with great propriety be considered separately, because each refers to a distinct working of the mind; and, also, because we may discover that the influence which commerce exerts upon literature, when taken in tha first sense, wiU by no means apply when it is understood in the second. By making the division, we shall at all events secure to ourselves a haltmg place where we may rest, and afterwards pursue our journey at leisure. If, then, we take up the first grand division of our subject, we shall hnd that 'even this must be considered with reference to three several epochs in the history of the human race. These three are,— the infancy of society— the progress of society, rapidly accelerating, as it proceeds to its full development— and the tranquil repose of society after this lull development has taken place. As to the first of these three :— There can be no doubt that commerce has a vast influence upon literature during the infancy of society, if indeed we can imagine that literature, in its early stage, could ex-st for any length of time, without that conflict of national minds, which can be produced by other causes, but which commerce alone can perpetuate. Man, while wandering in scattered tribes, or coUected in separate and widely detached patriarchal governments, was essentially the same being as we see him now, in crowded societies, and amid the intermmghng oi nations, lie naa uie sum-c lui-j aopj.aiK--!.', .i... ^. r proach nearer to that higher state of intelligence which his own feetogs a • ^^s*_, \ i »^. i everywhere tell him was, at one time, hia proper state of existence,— -he had the same thirst of knowledge which we have now. But how was this knowledge to be acquired? How, after the signal and miraculous dispersion of the human race, was he to obtain it? What i.*ock of knowledge did he carry with him at the commencement of his wanderings, and how was that stock to be increased ? How was it even to be preserved ? The curious have long felt an interest in conjecturing what were the scientific attainments of man at the time of this first dispersion, — I shall oarcly hint at them here, but shall probably recur to the subject. That No'.h pissf'sseu a large share of the knowledge of the antediluvian age, "/t, r.v.'.y readily b'ilieve, and we well know that that knowledge was of an 'iiipi rtance which it lias puzzled many scientific men to account for. The ; uilding ot the ark was in itself an exploit which the polished Greeks or Rom'-iPj couid hardlj have accomplished. The working in brass and iron, the number and kind (/ r:m,sical instjuments in use before the deluge, exhibit f prog- l\s3 in s;ience which can hardly be explained except on the Siipposll-on of r, d' vine revelation. The researches which are now making in Egypt, give us glimpses of antediluvian civilization, which, whils they surprise us, do ai the same time, most strangely connect the early pro- gress of art in that wonderful country with antediluvian tradition. In the records which are discovered in their tombs, we find traces that inscrip- tions which were graven upon stone before the deluge, had been read and commented unon by their learned men within the range of their records; and it has now become a matter of enquiry among philosophers whether their first Hermes was not a being of the former world — was not Tubal- cain, or Noah, or even Adam himself Be this, however, as it may ; let the extent of knowledge before the deluge have been what it might, and let it or let it not be, that portions of this knowledge were scattered among the descendants of Noah after the dispersion. Let us, without reference to the original stock of know- ledge, at once examine what the progress of each tribe would have been had it remained, isolated and unconnected, in the region to which it had wandered, and then let us compare this with what we know to have been its progress when it established a communication with other tribes. In their isolated state, they would settle down with the full possession of their traditionary knowledge, whatever that was, and with an earnest desire to apply it to the necessities of their new position. They would proceed to till the ground, and to hunt the forest for food for themselves and their families. And here would be their first attempt at originality. They would now find a climate differing in some respects from that which they had left — a climate favourable to the growth of other plants, or requiring a different mode of culture for those to which they had been accustomed. They would find the forests tenanted by a diflferent race of animals, requiring to be attacked by unwonted stratagems, and capable of being appUed to different purposes of food or raiment. They would find that the face of nature was changed, and it would be necessary for them to alter the whole economy of their lives. If they had brought with them a love of letters, or of music, or a fondness for poetry, they would gradu- ally blend the allusions, the comparisons, the aspirations, which were natural to their old life, with new ones drawn from the scenes which sroun^^ *1 — HJCV ECCUoLGiueu liiciXiSciVcS the LU a t,uuc thinking peculiar to theh: position, and distinctive of themselves. And the same thing would follow in the case of every particular tribe which wandered to a distance from its fellows. If its migrations led it to a settlement in a mountainous country, in one full of sublime scenery, filled with the more grand wonders of nature's works, the ideas of its people would correspond with external nature; they would delight in ■tern granderr of thought — their religion would be severe, but pure. If their wanderings led them to places, delighting in a genial warmth of climate, glowing under a brilliant sun, filled with exuberant vegetation, and blessed with a soil which produced the necessaries of life with little labour, they would, from the very want of any necessity for exertion, bccoriie it.dolent and sensual ; their thoughts, literature and religion, would become voluptuous like themselves. Thvi", throughout the inhabited world, would gradually be formed, various communities of men, differing materially in their modes of action and habits of thought t retaining, indeed, the remembrance of the same great truths, but makir ? these assume different appearances, according to the kind of drapery ^uh which they shrouded them. How would they proceed in the progress of intelligence, if they remained separate? and how would they be acted upon by communication with other tribes? How would they proceed without commerce? or how would they proci d with commerce, which, in such a situation, would be the only inducement to a regular intercourse ? If they remained in seclusion, they would work upon their own stock of ideas, both natural and traditionary, till they had made every discovery which was required by their necessities, or was wanted for their comfort. They would master every progressive difficulty, till they could erect buildings sufficient for their accommodation, and would cultivate the ground till it produced the greatest crops. They would encourage such a reciprocation of thought as would amuse them in their dwellings, and they would arrange such a plan of religion as would satisfy their longings for immortality. When they had accomplished this, they would work within a circle upon their mental stock ; they would attempt to beautify what their peculiar principles had already established, but they could not proceed to any amendment which involved an addition to these prin- ciples ; they would have no comprehension of the possibility of higher results, and would thertfore never attempt to obtain them. But how different would it be, were the different tribes brought into communication with each other! A common veneration for the residence or burial place of their original ancestors, might lead them to resort to it, and to meet there during a casual or a periodical pilgrimage; or the lingering feelings of relationship might lead them to track out the way for Tisits from one to another. Such feelin-o might lead them to track out the way, but what except commerce c- aid induce them so to trace and make plain the path, that it would become the traversed road of general communication? If the intercouree proceeded simply from feelings of relationship, these would become more feeble during every succeeding generation ; if from reverence, that would decay. Their own mountains, or their own forests, would, to their own estimation, increase in sanctity ; and the birth place, or the burial ground, of their own children or imme- diate parents, would be more regarded than those of persons who were fadinor from, theii recollection- But in these primeval visits, they would soon find much that was dif- ferent from what they themselves possessed. They would find that dif- f \1 ^ s|y )l ' k A' fcrencc of cUmato had led other tribes to prosecute arts which were dit- fer'jHi from theirs — to produce articles which, tliough contrived upon the call of a ditFcriug necessity, yet if combined with what they themselves possessed, would add to their comforts. They would find that each could exchange with the other something that was useful, and that each would be benefitted by the exchange They would find that their intercourse was profitable, as well as agreeable; and they would repeat their visits with more frecjuency, and continue them for a longer time, as they began to produce a greater quantity or variety of articles, or acquired an incli- nation for higher or more varied elegancies. During these repeated visits, they would gradually form a more inti- mate acquaintanceship. They would begin to talk of something more than mere business. They would acquaint each other with new discoveries in science, and they would recite to each other the songs and the annals of their respective countries. They would continually find that these com- munications eHcited something that was new, something that was unknown to one or the other ; their stock of knowledge would be increased, their minds would not now reason in a circle upon the same ideas, but would become expanded, in proportion to the wider vision which was opened to their view. It is only upon some such supposition that we can at all account for man making a progressive advance from a state of nature io one of varied knowledge, or acquiring a taste for literature. Without mutual commu- , nication, which necessarily includes commerre, they would advance only so far as necessity urged them ; when necessity was satisfied, they would spend the rest of their time either in torpor or voluptuousness ; in torpor, if the climate was severe ; in voluptuousness, if it was ger.ial. If we look around us, and consider the situation in which every secluded country has been found when first discovered by Europeans, Wf aall obtain a strong confirmation of this theory. Mexico, and Peru, are exceptions in this new continent, as Egypt and India were in the old ; and if I have time, we shall probably find that there are peculiarities regarding these countries, which will clearly justify us in treating them as excep- tions. But look in any other direction, and what shall we see ? In what state were the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands, when theur shores were first imprinted with the footsteps of the white man ? Living in full enjoyment of the most delightful climate in the world, they procured their food with little labour, and consequently had ample leisure for meditation, and improvement. But to what purpose was this leisure employed ? They learned to construct their slight dwellings with neatneiJs, to cultivate their gardens to advantage, to inclose and divide their fields, and to make some kind of roaus or paths across their country. This was as far as any of them had advanced, and by far the greater number were much behind even this degree of improvement. Of science, they had none ; their religion was voluptuous, their morals depraved. In other islands, not enjoying such advantages of climate, the mental progress was much the same, though the character of the people was dif- ferent ; as they procured their food with greater difficulty, so their powers of exertion were greater; they had more hardihood of disposition, their religion was more severe and cruel in its rites, and even cannibalism was common among them. The islands in the Eastern Ocean present similar results. "Wc caa hardly say that these islanders have been discovered by us ia a secluded f_^s».. 6 ■tatc of original nature, for we cannot tell how far the nncient Indian, Arabian, Chinese, and Egyptian conuneree may have extended aniong them. But n» this had eeased long before our visits, we found every- where but few traces of its efiects: if we except the mixing up of mysterious dogmas of imported religion with their own traditions, and the pr ?tice of piracy, which was almost the only purpose tc which they applied their acquired knowledge of navigation. Let us turn to the continental world, and compare the condition of the migratory tribes, with that of those countries where totmncrce has en- couraged and maintained a fixed ard industrious population. We find the latter advanced to various degrees of science and art ; we find all of them looking to something beyond mere nouriihment for enjoyment ; and though the progress of some may be slow, yet, even in the n-.ost tardy of them, do we find a creeping march towards improvement. If we look at the formtr, we find that to this day they possess the knowledge of nothing more ihan is requisite to procure their own subsistence. The Kamptscha- dale, the Laplander, and the Esquimaux, to whose cheerless countries no caravan ever travels, are sunk nearly as low as we can suppore humanity to fall. The wandering Arab beholds the rapid passage of caravans wich as little effect upon his habits as the feet of the camels have upon the moving sunds of the desert. The roaming Indian cp'es nothing about intercourse with white men, except to procure fire arms, with which to continue the chace, or perpetuate his niurderoua feuds with his fellows ; or, what is worse, to procure materials for debasing intoxication. And thus will it be in whatever dirertion we turn our 'lew. I now proceed to the second branch of this subject, which is, the connection between literature and commerce, uuring the progress of society; when it is proceeding, with a pace rapidly accelerating as it advances, to its iuU developement. And here, I believe we shah naturally come to the conclusion, that, as in its infancy no progress could be made iii learning, or in acquiring the love of learning, without com- merce ; 8 J neither could the progress of art, nor the inclination to admire it, be fully developed. As an instance of this, I would allude as briefiy as I can to India and Egypt ; which countries I have already named as exceptions to our general survey of mankind. 1 would also allude to China, the early his- tory of which seems to entitle it also to a position different from that of the rest of the world ; but hardly, as I think, from all that we have yet learned, to be considered an exception upon the same grounds. From the very commencement of Scripture history, we find India and Egypt not hinted at obscurely, but plainly pointed out as renowned seats of learning and civilization; and this more than two thousand years before the birth of our Saviour. And every successive discovery which is made by modern research, not only proves that such must have been the ease, but pours a flood of light upon general history as related in the Old Testament. Not only do we now know that Egypt must, at the early period which is therein mentioned, have been in a position fully as ad- vanced as is there represented, jut some of the most singular events in patriarchal history, are found to have been there painted or graven, as if for our information. For example : there has been found in one of the tombs, a pictorial representation of JusepK delivering to the Governor of the land '»f Goshen, the royal '^rder that the Israelites should occupy that land. Joseph is represented in his full robes and official wig, with the I "f X h~^^^ . . noi I '^ A *««^^•^*. gorcmor kneeling before him, (tlioroby proving the Assertion of Scripture that JoHcph '.'as the Trinie Minister of I'hiiroah) and rt'ceiving the writ- ten order, while Joseph poin',9 to liis father Jacob, and to his brethren. The whole transnciion is exphiined ia hieroglyphic acroHf. And all thia happened, and was thus recorded seventeen hinidrct' years b'-fore Christ. Hut it is not so much to the early date at which these lountries were tivil'ited, as to the peculiar nature of their civilization and learning, thar I wouM direct your attention. It is p' '^it Inilia and Egypt were in advance of all Kurope and Asia in seien' .ad art, but to the extent, the depth, and the abstraction of their science, and to the vaiitty of their arts, that I would aak you to look. It is a matter of much controvcisy, whether civilization proceeded frou". ln('" to Egypt, or from Egypt to India, but an enquiry of that kind can have !"> place here at present. We know very well tli.it their early civilization and religion were intimately connected, if they were not the same ; for the Sepov troops, whom Sir David Brird conducted across the desert to Egypt, to attack liuonap&.ce. fell down before the idols in the ancient Egyptian temples, saying that these were their gods also. Taking them indiscriminately, we are astoni; ■ founders of other nations. I regard Mexico and Peru as excep- tions likewise, because it is very evident that the extraordinary people who were, in all probability, their teachers, were in som^.' way or other, to us as yet unaccountable, connected with early Indian and Egyptian art. When Mexico and Peru were first discovered, their inhabitants were found in possession of almost all the useful arts; they had made astonishing progress in .architecture, having not only succeeded iu erect- ing such dwellings as were necessary for their shelter and comfort, but in rearing palaces and lofty temples. They made roads, bridges, and canals. Their form of government was settled, its arrangements pervaded the whole frame of their society. They had a regular police, and even an establishment of post couriers, for the transmission of intelligence ; and yet there was nothing so distinctive ir he appearance of these people, as to make it at all probable that they were a separate race from the other red men who were found all around them, both on the continent and in the islands, and who were still in comparative barbarism. They had traditions that in former wars they had driven from these very lands a former and more ancient people, whom they called builders, or architects ; some of their more ancient buildings were said to have been erected by that race, and not by themselves. By the rude and avaricious adventurers, who first discovered and conquered those countries, these traditions were recorded with but little enquiry into their correctness ; in our own days, however; their accuracy has been fully proved. Throughout Central America, in a position between Mexico and Peru, immense architectural remains have been dis- covered ; but when erected, is as yet a matter of conjecture. These remains, like those in Upper Egypt and in India, are, almost entirely, those of gigantic temples. The ponderous masonry is the same, the walls, statues, and pillars, are covered with hieroglyphics. The know- ledge of chemistry which this unknown people possessed, must have been equal to that of Egypt ; for the colours, with which their drawings were painted, are as fresh as any which have been discovered among the Egyptian tombs ; and this although exposed to a climate of greater mois- ture. The manner, also, in which these wonderful buildings are arranged, most strangely connects those that planned and built them, with the early inhabitants of the Eastern Old World. For example: the great temple at Palenque is found to correspond exactly, iu the size aud height of its terraces, in the number and arrange-' ment of its courts and porticos, and in many other particulars, with the *< 11 r, dimensions of Solomon's temple at Jerusalem. Many of thoir other build- ings bear striking resemblances to ancient erections in Egypt and India ; and, on the whole, the coincidences are -io extraordinary, that a very clever author in the Foreign Quarterly Review, did some years ago make out, to his own satisfaction, that these buildings were erected by descen- dants of the Canaanites, driven fVum Judea by Joshua ; who, after a pil- grimage through the wilds of Tartary and North America, had finally settled down in Yucatan. Others supposed thjm to have been erected by the lost tribes of Israel. The connection with India, Egypt and Palestine, is evident ; but I would rather refer its cause to the great extent of commercial enterprise among the peculiar people of these early ages, than have recourse to the supposition that a whole nation could employ ages and generations in traversing desert regions, and, after the expiration of all those ages, arrive in this far distant land, with all their knowledge fresh as from a recent teacher, and entire as if recorded and carried with them on tablets of brass. It is to be hoped, that a key to these hieroglyphics of Central America, will soon be found ; and that we shall be able to read them, as we now do those of Egypt. When we can do thi'., and not till then, will we acquire an insight into the early history of those who composed them; but the existence of such a people, and upon such a spot, gives a derivation to the arts and learning of Mexico and Peru, which is sufficiently singular and precise, to justify me in reckoning these countries exceptions to the general course of our reasoning. After these remarks, which have run out to a greater length than I intended to have allowed them, I shall proceed to make a few remarks upon the correction between literature and commerce dijring the early progress of civilization in Europe. And here our attention must first be turned to the early civilization of the Greeks, a people, the combined elegance and originality of whose literature arc regarded even at this day as something which has yet to be attempted, rather than as any thing which has been equalled. We must then turn to that of the Romans, and shall probably find, that commerce had great influence in producing the marked difference of national mind in the two countries. It IS impossible to enter now into details of the early Grecian com- merce; our time will not allow it, and it would hardly be necessary for our purpose, even if it did. The connection of early Greece with those countries which we found to have been the very focus of early commerce and civilization, is clearly proved, b the fact that Cecrops, the first king of Athens, was an Egyptian, — Pelops of Mycenae, a Phrygian prince,— - and that Cadmus introduced written characters from the Phoenicians. These facts prove that a familiar communication took place between Greece and the countries from which these rulers came. Another proof of the energy of commercial spirit among the Greeks, is to be found in the fact, that they established colonies everywhere within the range of their maritime enterprise ; not colonies consistinp of a conquered town or province, and dignified with that name as a mattei of favour, as the Romans did ; but real settlements, peopled by their people, and speaking their language. And this colonization, though commencing in so early an age, that the difference of pronunciation, which was produced by dis- tance and change of climate, gradually increased till it formed distinct il-iXLCS «2kiL >1 lost their greatness. We find them with important settlements in the 12 Bouth of Italy; we also find them taking such complete possession of Asia Minor, and extending their arts and influence so fa? into the interior as to press upon the Persian monarchy, and render it a matter of political necessity that the rulers of that vast empire should attempt to cut down the main stem, that they might disencumber themselves from the branches. We cannot, upon any other supposition, account for their Persian wars ; or for the txpeditioa of Xerxes, otherwise apparently so wild and unne- cessary. The high polish to which the Greeks brought the arts of literature, sculpture and architecture, must be accounted for by other causes ; but it is easy to see how this habit of commercial activity should, by producing a constant stimulus of fresh ideas, urge them on to make discovery after discovery, improvement after improvement, and even to create that con- stant craving for something new, which was so characteristic of them that it passed into an ancient by-word. We know that their learned men travelled to the East to study at the most celebrated schools of philosophy which were still taught by the priests in those countries ; and we can easily imagine how the vast mental activity which, on their return, they found prevailing among their countrymen, would induce them to display and make the most >f their acquired knowledge. We can easily imagine how it would lead them to complete those systems of philosophy, of which they bad obtained the rudiments in the East — how it would stimulate them to original thinking, till they produced new systems of their own. We find that this was the course they actually took. They im.ported the knowledge of the East, and they carefully polished and worked up every part of it which was suitable for effect on the masses. They made immense progress in metaphysics, rhetoric, mathematics, and every other science which is dependent upon pure reasoning ; gaining little ground, however, and it is a most singular fact in the philosophy of the mind, in those enquiries which depend for their successful prosecution upon carer ful and repeated practical experiment. They made little progress in chemistry, astronomy, and some other branches of natural philosophy. And here I would remark, in passing, that the mental tendency among the Greeks was quite different from that of the Eastern people. The of Eastern philosophy, was distinctiveness ; while that of the aim Greek was abstraction. The Egyptians erred, by carrying the desire of distinctiveness too far ; the Greeks, by extending their abstract reasoning to subjects to which it did not apply. The people of the East were never satisfied, till they made an important truth apparent to their senses. No soomr did they make a discovery than they set to work to symbolize it — to attempt to draw it down from heaven, and make it apparent to the eye and the touch. They ransacked all animate and inanimate nature, for fancied resemblances to those ideas of the beautiful or great, which their philosophy had made plain to their intellect. The flower, the tree, or the animal in which the resemblance was found, became an emblem; from an emblem, it passed gradually among the vulgar, into an actual personification ; until, by the extension of this process, we can account for the otherwise incomprehensible multiplication of objects of idolatrous worship among them. Their train of thinking was essentially symbolic, their language was the same — this still continues to be a striking peculi- arity of Eastern style — presenting nature in such graceful extravagance, S(3 CVwlX VC^ if^ V*X|^trl *'£&•> ■%*r%v\f%^ V us ill ititauvj, _ The Greeks, again, were never satisfied with the mere possession of a 13 V 't' positive and certain truth ; no sooner did they make a discovery of any such, than they began to resolve it into its principles, — to split it into abstractions. They deprived it of its individuality, and generalized a theory from it ; a habit of thought which, carried to .he extreme, produces results equally disastrous, though differing in kind from the errors of the East. The latter multiplied representations of truth, till truth itself was lost and smothered a-nong its representatives. The foimer went on abstracting till there was no certainty of any truth whatever. It would be very interesting to investigate whence this counter current of mind took its rise among the Greeks, — whether it was derived from a previous philosophy of which we are now ignorant, or was produced by their peculiar habits and position. Its effect was very early apparent in the overthrow of all ancient and universally received principles of govern- ment. Monarchy was discarded, republican institutions were established upon the specious pretence that they were more consonant to the nature and dignity of man ; and vox populi vox dei was made an axiom in philosophy. ^ To this new system, we owe much that is noble in character and active in evertion, combined with incessant vicissitudes, frequent re-actions in public affairs, great virtues, r nd great crimes. So attractive did the Greeks make this system of government, that more or less of it has been mixed up with every European constitution to this day. The East continued in the implicit observance of their traditionary mode of rule, which, by their excessive attachment to it, frequently degenerated into tyranny of a very had description — the tyranny of the palace — of the minions who ruled the sovereign by crouching to him. And yet look where we will, whether to the early days of ancient empires, or to the state of every newly discovered country — look around the world read the records of old discoveries, and examine the details of new ones— look where you will, and observe society in its original elements, nowhere will you iind anything but the original form of patriarchal government, combined perhaps with the ruling power of chiefs, or elders. We find everywhere, that the masses of mankind were ruled by some authority independent of themselves ; nowhere do we find an instance of such repub- lican institutions as we see among the Greeks. So that we may safely say, that if there be any ground for the axiom that vox populi est vox dei, there is stronger reason for concluding that this vox totius mundi is the actual handwriting on the wall— the vox dei engraven with the principles of order upon the hearts of men. If we turn to the ancient Romans, we shall find, that instead of embracing commerce with the heartiness and zeal which the Greeks did, it was held in contempt among them ; and that those of its operations which were indispensable to society, were entrusted to persons of inferior rank. To be a merchant, would have been degradation to a patrician. The march of conquest brought them in continued and advancing connec- tion with other countries, and the productions of those countries were regularly imported into their capital; but this was done by underlings, or strangers ; and the commercial spirit never became part and parcel of the Roman character. At no period of their history could the Romans have resorted to their wooden walls, as the Athenians did. We accordingly find that the spirit of intellectual research, never did at any time exist among the Romans as a people. With the productions of new countries, those who were disposed to study acquked a knowledge of the arts and sciences which flourished in these countries. With the 14 con(|ue8t of Greece the learned Romans became acquainted with her philosophy ; but this philosophy was studied among them as the solace of a learned and luxurious leisure, rather than as Bomething generally important to be understood, and in which the publ'c mind desired instruc- tion. It was a thing to be pondered over, to be embellished, to be the subject of conversation among friends of the same class ; but the mass of the people knew little of it. These, paid and fed at public cost as Roman citizens, were not stimulated to mental activity by the never ceasing energies of commerce. And therefore it was, that the Romans weie not an inventive people* They acquired the philosophy of the Greeks, but were not thereby stimu- lated to make fresh diHcovories. They treasured what they possessed, and they polished it to brightness; they invented no new system, but they attempted to combine several old systems into one. They retained the architecture which they had received from the Greeks, added Bome ornaments to give it a more luxutious appearance, and blended the original orders into one new one : the composite. They received the poetry and history of the Greeks, and in their ingenious leisure they imitated and rivalled their masteis; but except in the satirical poem, itself a resource to enliven indolent luxury, they produced no new style. In metaphysics, they advanced very little ; but in criticism they made great progress. The Greek mind was inventive, throughout all grades of its society ; that of the Latins, was studious and reflective among those classes which had wealth and leisure. And this difference proceeded, as I believe, from the fact that the Greeks were a commercial people, while the Romans were not. In continuing these observations, I shall pass over the period of bar- barism and decay which spread over Europe during what is called the dark ages. The accumulated wisdom of former times was then nearly lost, and with it, commerce and even the art of navigation were almost forgotten. After this, the first stimulus to the general mind of Europe was certainly given by the crusades, that wondrous result of e:;cited religion, which, by precipitating Europe upon Asia, brought the pupils once more to the residence of their former teachers. The first effects which this sudden contact had upon the rude inhabitants of the west, were wonder at the novelty of eastern manners, and admiration of the riches, the arts and the architecture which were there displayed. After wonder and admiration, '^ame the desire of continued possession, and of regular communication. Constant intercourse produced a rivalry among European nations, to produce in the greatest quantity, or of the highest excellence, those manufactures which could be exchanged to the best advantage for the jewels, the silks and the spices of the East. Thus was the first stimulus given to that commercial activity, which has ever since become a pervading feature of European society. To this are we to attribute the origin of that general ferment of mind, which has ever since distinguished Europe from one end to the other. We find, accordingly, that literature first began to dawn, and the arts to flourish, in the very places where this new commerce was begun. We find the Italian republics embarking largely in the trade of the East, and we find them also first in the race of literature ; we and poets and philoso- phers, painters and sculptors, start up among them. We find the same improvement gradually spreading in the very track of this commercial spirit, aqd to the very places where its effects were greatest. The Italian mer- 15 chants found that woollen goods, the staple commodity of the cold north of Europe, were nearly, if not quite, the most important exchangeabl« material in the East, and they ransacked tne north to t'ud them. Large woollen manufactories were established in Flanders. Bruges and Ghent rose to eminence as commercial stations, and there also did literature and art first flourish. The further progress of European commerce is matter of modern history, and is so well known that I need not trespass further upon your time by describing it in detail, but shi'll proceed at once to consider the third branch of my subject, which was, the connection between literature and commerce during the tranquil repose consequent upon the full development of society. Here, also, shall we find, that commerce acts as an engine necessary to keep the human mind stimulated to exertion. With the full develop- ment of society comes the diffusion of wealth, with wealth comes the desire of luxurious case, and luxurious ease passes naturally into indo- lence. Were this tendency to remain unchecked, exertion of mind would become hateful ; the desire of acquiring knowledge would be lost, or cul- tiv; ted only as subsidiary to ornament and the gratification of the senses* A retrograde movement would commence, science would be frittered away into elegant quibbles, and literature dwindle down to nothing more impor- tant than a sonnet or a madrigal. But here the commercial spirit steps in and arrests the progress of decay ; it keeps society in constant motion, elevating the low and depressing the lofty, filling every rank with new claimants for distinction, and keeping all on the watch that they may not, during a season of forgetfulness, be elbowed out of the way, and lose their position. By this constant movement throughoi.t the whole framework of human membership, it gradually and more and more spreads know- ledge of every kind before the eyes of individuals, increasing the stock of their acquirements, bringing them nearer and nearer to ihe position of those abovi them. If men of learning would now keep the eminence which they heve previously gained, they must deepen their researches, must increase their discoveries ; they must keep adding to the rapidly accumulating fund of knowledge, if they would wish to be looked up to as before. Something approaching to this effect is produced by extensive wars and distant foreign conquest, but the effect of ^hese is transitory. Their immediate consequence is to rouse the public mind, and to bring it more in contact with a fresh, and perhaps novel chain of ideas ; but when these ideas have become incorporated with the former supply, the torpor cf repose again takes place, and the re-action of indolence commences. Neither, if we discard commerce, do I see anything which can be employed as its substitute in keeping alive the mental activity of a great country. I shall now proceed to make a few remarks upon the connection between commerce and belles lettres, which forms the \ast branch of our subject. In these I shall be as brief as possible, because this essay has, like the former, expanded to a greater size than I would have wished or you have desired. I have also been tempted to step rather frequently aside from my direct path, and must make the more haste to reach the "ud of my journey. Many of the observations which I have now to make may seem to be forestalled already, or merely to be corollaries to the positions which I have previously attempted to estabUsh. From my previous remarks it is evident, that I look upon eoinnieree as a grand moving power to stimulate the desire for fresh acquisitions in 16 literature. These acquisiuons will be given to the public in language more or less refined as the age in which the authors live is more or less civilized. In a rude a^e they will be delivered in language coarse, but nervous and terse : i'- a polished one, they will be clothed with elegance suitable to the general refinement. But commerce has little direct agency in bringing about the refinement, while the refinement has a powerful effect in guiding and altering the current of thought. In the case of a very barbarous people brought suddenly into contact with one of advanced civilization, the refinement of the latter will be to the former something to imitate and assume, as we would copy the cut of a coat, and put on one of the same fashion ; whiJe the ideas which this refinement clothes, are something to startle the mind, either to ponder upon, or to stir it up from its inmost depths. Commerce incessantly brings a stock of raw material to the mart of literature, as the industry of the miner extracts ores of precious metal from the bowels of the earth. The polishing of those ideas must, like the burnishing of ♦he precious metals, be done by other hands ; be planned and carried out by minds imbued with a different spirit. Energy must be the characteristic of the one ; ease and quiet of the other. It nay be said that comir rce, by accelerating the diffusion of wealth, has a powerful effect in affording the means of enjoying that ease which is necessary for the final polish of literature. It undoubtedly has so, but so equally have war and conquest. We find among the Romans immense fortunes derived from conquest and the government of conquered countries ; fortunes surpassing »ny thing which we read of among the Greeks. And we find that this accumulation of wealth produced among them the very same effect which it does under other circumstances — a |)olish of manners, and a high finish to every work of learning as a necessary passport to popularity. One striking effect certainly does however follow from the continued prosecution of commerce during an age of intellectual refinement. It prevents polish from becoming the one thing essential — the all in all — from being the thing sought for, instead of the garment in which to clothe the object of search with more perfect elegance. It prevents the acces- sary from taking the place of the principal — it tends to keep everything In literature in its proper place. By keeping up activity of mind, it con- stantly presents knowlege and goodness, and those only, as the grand aims of human intellect. It prevents the judgment from being satisfiec^ with tinsel in place of pure gold. I have ventured to support these opinions by a course of argument which has been rather too desultory in its progress, but if I have brought you to agree with me, I think we shall all conclude ihat the connection betw^jen literature and commerce is most important; we shall conclude that commerce is absolutely necessary to promote the growth and dis- seminate the first germs of literature ; that it is a stimulus highly im- portant in forwarding its rapid and yet vigorous growth, and that it is of the same use as the training-rod and pruning-knife of the gardener, in preventing the full-grown plant from exhausting itself by a superfluity of gaudy blossoms, which would impede, if they did not entirely prevent, the growth and maturity of good fruit. I f FINIS. BowseUi & Thompson, Printers, Toronto. r 11 I