第56章

HenryLonguevilleMansel(1820-1871)，(5*)Hamilton’smostnoteworthyinterpreter，wasatypicalOxforddon，asbecamehisbirth。Hewasthedescendantofanoldfamilyofcountry-gentlemen，theyoungermembersofwhichhadenteredthearmyornavyorheldthefamilyliving。Hehadbeenabrilliantschoolboy，haddistinguishedhimselfinOxfordexaminations，andbecameknownasawitincommon-rooms，awriterofvivacioussquibs，andasoundToryandhighChurchman。Hehadaclearintellect，aforciblestyle，andhadstudiedtheologyandGermanmetaphysicswithremarkableenergy。HeapparentlybeganasaKantian；buthewasgreatlyimpressedbySirWilliamHamilton，withwhomhehadnopersonalrelations；andheadoptedfromHamiltonthepeculiartheorywhichwastoenlistKantintheserviceofthechurchofEngland。HisBamptonLecturesin1858

madehimfamousasachampionoforthodoxy。In1868hewasappointedtothedeaneryofStPaul’s；buthislabourshadbeentoomuchforhisbrain，andhediedsuddenlyin1871。

HamiltonstartedunderthedoubleinfluenceoftheScottishphilosophyandofAristotle。Formallogicwastohimthemostcongenialofstudies。Hewouldhavebeenthoroughlyinhiselementinthemedievalschools，syllogisingtothedeath。

Accordingtoanenthusiasticpupil，helaidthetopstoneonthefabricfoundedbythe’masterhandoftheStagirite。’(6*)Hewasinhiselementwhendividing，subdividing，andcross-dividingallmannerofphilosophicaltenets。Theaimwasadmirable。Tohaveallopinionsproperlyarticulatedandcorrelatedwouldbethefinalresultofahistoryofphilosophyandasteptofurtherprogress。Thedangerofacceptingsuchaclassificationprematurelyisequallyobvious。Thetechnicaltermsofmetaphysicshavethemostprovokinghabitofshiftingtheirmeaning；theyshadeoffimperceptiblyintoeachother，andsometimesevenchangeplaces；theyrepresentaspectsoftruthcaughtfromaparticularpointofview，whichbecomeinapplicableorcarrydifferentimplicationsasthepointofviewimperceptiblyshifts。Whatappeartobecontradictoryutterancesmaybemerelyqualificationsofeachother，ormaymeanthesamethingindifferentdialects。Asystembuiltofsuchunsubstantialandslipperymaterialsisapttocrumbleintomerechaoswithoutextremecareandpenetration。Hamilton，mostfullyawareofthisingeneralterms，wasneverthelessnotsufficientlyonhisguard。

Healwaysseemstofancythathecanavoidallambiguitiesbyadefinition，anddoesnotrememberthatthewordsbywhichhedefinesareasshiftingintheirsenseastheworddefined。TheconsiderationisespeciallyimportantbecauseitisHamilton’smainpurposetomediatebetweenconflictingopinions。HestartsfromReid’s’common-sense，’andhastoshowhowthepositioncanbeprotectedagainstscepticismontheonesideandmysticismontheother。

Cousin，asadiscipleoftheScottishphilosophers，representedonelineofdeviationfromthejudiciousmean。

BeginningwithReid，hehadbecome，withcertainreserves，afollowerordeveloperofSchelling。Coleridge’s’genialcoincidence’withSchellinghadledtonoverytangibleresult；

butCousin’ssystematicdevelopmentshowedthephilosophydivergingintoafalsetrack，andwastingitselfuponthepursuitofutterlychimericalaims。Hamilton，therefore，endeavouredtoexposethefallaciesinvolvedinthewholeprocedure。Heagreed，asweshallsee，withanimportantpartofKant’sdoctrine；butthoughtthatbycertainoversightsKanthadopenedthedoortoSchelling’semptyspeculations。TherewasanoppositedangertowhichHamiltonwasequallyawake。HeinsisteduponitinanarticlepublishedOctober1830uponthe’PhilosophyofPerception。’Thisis，inthemain，afierceattackuponBrown——

theonephilosophicalwriterofwhomhecannotspeakwithoutbetrayingprejudice。Hamilton’santipathyhasbeenalreadyexplained。BrownshowsScottishphilosophylapsingintomereempiricismand’inductivepsychology。’Hamiltonnevermentionshimwithoutaccusinghimofblundersandofcrassignorance。

Hamiltonthusstandsupfortheorthodoxcommon-sensetheoryofReid，andresentsbackslidingsintotranscendentalismontherighthandandsensationalismontheleft。LiketheexcellentDavidDeans，hewouldkeepthe’ridgeofthehill，wherewindandwatershears。’When，however，hesetabouttheeditionofReid’sworks，hebegantodiscoverinconsistencies。HedoubtedwhetherReidhadreallytaughtthetruefaith；andhewasledtorestatemorearticulatelyhisownview。Totheendofhislife，however，HamiltoncalledhimselfaNaturalRealist；andheld，thoughwithincreasingqualifications，thatReid’sdoctrinewasanapproximatestatementofthesamedoctrine。WhatNaturalRealismmaybeisanotherquestio