1. Summaria brevis et compendiosa doctrina felicis expeditionis et abbreviationis guerrarum et litium regni Francorum.-This treatise has never been published, but a distinguished French savant, M. Natalis de Wailly, has given an abstract of it, done with so much completeness that it makes a reference to the original quite unnecessary. The Latin

text may be found amongst the MSS. of the Paris National Library.

2. Deliberatio super agendis a Philippo IV., Francorum rege, contra epistolam Bonifacii papæ VIII., inter cætera continentem hæc verba : "Scire te volumus."-This document was printed for the first time by Pierre Dupuy, more than two hundred years ago. It has also been analyzed by Baillet and Velly. It is the only work to which the author has affixed his name, and which has enabled critics to identify the other compositions of the clever Gallican lawyer.

3. Quæstio de potestate papæ.-The history of the quarrels between Philip the Fair and Pope Boniface VIII. could not but excite the industry of French historians. Accordingly a collection of "the Acts of Boniface VIII. and Philip the Fair was published about the beginning of the seventeenth century, and the document of which we just copied the title appears amongst the pièces justificatives appended to that volume; it was also published subsequently by Dupuy.

4. It is well known that on the 7th of September, 1303, the quarrel which had so long been raging between the Pope and the King of France led to an act of unjustifiable violence on the part of a monarch whose unscrupulous character was quite equal to his abilities. The imprisonment of the legate, Bernard Saisset, followed by the burning of the bull of excommunication fulminated by Boniface against Philip, had naturally carried to the uttermost the Pope's anger, and he seized the temporalities of forty leading French ecclesiastics. By way of answer, the King of France summoned the States General, and obtained from them an acknowledgment of his independent right to the crown. So far, the course adopted by the monarch was perfectly legitimate; but he completely damaged his own interests by the unwarrantable manner in which he attempted to frighten the unfortunate Boniface. Treating the Pope as an open enemy, "he formed a close alliance with the family of Colonna, and sent Guillaume de Nogaret, a celebrated lawyer, into Italy, with a sum of money, in order to raise troops. Accompanied by a body of desperadoes secretly and suddenly collected, Nogaret and Sciarra Colonna surprised Boniface at Anagni, a town in his own territories, and the place of his birth; exclaiming, 'Let the Pope die! and long live the King of France!' Boniface, however, did not lose his courage. He dressed himself in his cope, put the tiara upon his head, and, holding the keys in the one hand, and the cross in the other, presented himself with an air of majesty before his conquerors. On this occasion, it is said, Sciarra had the brutality to strike him, crying out, Tyrant! renounce the pontificate which thou hast dishonoured.' 'I am Pope!' replied Boniface, with a look of intrepidity, and will die Pope!' His gallant behaviour had such an effect on the minds of the inhabitants, that they rose against his enemies, and rescued him from their hands. But Boniface was so much affected by the indignities which had been offered him, that he did not long survive." *

Russell, "Modern Europe," vol. i., p. 430.

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Now, it is perfectly clear that, however extravagant the assumptions of the Pope may have been, his rival had resented them in a manner which was likely to damage his own cause very seriously. Hence the necessity of apologizing for the catastrophe of Anagni, and of endeavouring to find a mezzo termine which would set Philip the Fair right with the see of Rome. Such was the purpose of a very remarkable document published for the first time by a modern French historian, M. Boutaric,* who ascribes it to Guillaume de Nogaret. But the slightest reference to this piece will serve to show that M. Boutaric's hypothesis is wrong. The author of the paper we are now noticing places himself half-way between the Gallicans and the Ultramontanists, and he does not hesitate to designate as a crime the attack upon Boniface. Is it probable that Nogaret would have made such an admission, and thus supplied his enemies and those of his master with weapons against them? We know on the contrary that he maintained during his whole life the meritorious character of his deed; not only he never felt ashamed of it, but he declared that it should have been adequately rewarded. The attack upon the palace of Anagni had been made, he asserted, not really by himself, but by the universal Church acting through him.

The apologetic and moderate style of our document, together with other peculiarities in the composition, lead us to place it on the list of Pierre du Bois's polemical writings.

(To be continued.)

SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH:

A SKETCH.

ALL biography is interesting; every life has a significance of its own, and each life teaches distinct lessons. But some lives are more interesting than others,—at least, they are more so for us,—and this arises from the nature of the relations that exist between individuals or classes, from differences of taste, sympathy, or natural inclination. The statesman will chiefly study the rise and development of the constitution of his country, and the characters of those associated with it. In like manner the theologian will contemplate the course of those who have been engaged in theological disquisition or controversy. The lovers of the fine arts will delight in tracing the progress of the men who have added lustre to painting and sculpture. The philosopher finds his greatest pleasure in making himself acquainted with those who have successively studied the great problems which philosophical inquiry has opened up in different periods to him Plato and Aristotle, Bacon and Descartes, Hume and Kant, are more attractive than Pitt or Fox, Reynolds or Wilkie. This is natural; it brings out variety of mental application, and it is interesting to observe its manifestations.

The life of SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH, although of general interest, has a

special attraction for the student of philosophy, literature, and politics. He challenges criticism in each of these departments, but principally in the first; for his thoughts were naturally directed to that particular province, and it must be acknowledged that his labours in it are splendid proofs of his genius. He was born at Aldourie, near Inverness, on the 24th of October, 1765. His father was Captain John Mackintosh, who had been for a considerable time in the army; his mother, originally Miss Marjory Macgillivray, was very affectionate to her only son, and bestowed great care upon his training. He received his preliminary education at the country school of Fortrose, under a master whom he afterwards recognized as a man of ability. Here he formed habits of reading, being brought into contact with works in theology, history, and general literature. Even at this early period of his life he was known for his uncommon cleverness, and was regarded in the neighbourhood as a prodigy of learning. But though he devoured books with great eagerness, his reading was somewhat desultory; and he confesses that the irregularities of his school-discipline deprived him of that vigour and method so invaluable to systematic study in after life.

On leaving school, he proceeded to King's College, Aberdeen, where he studied for four sessions, giving his attention to Latin, Greek, mathematics, and philosophy. In mathematical and physical subjects he did not shine; his mind was more fitted for the investigation of questions in moral and political philosophy; and his thoughts were accordingly bent in the direction of the great problems on which he afterwards expended so much of his talent. Philosophy is the province in which the Scotch intellect has exerted much of its energies, and reaped many of its laurels. In the northern universities the teaching of this subject occupies a prominent place; and the names of Hume, Reid, Stewart, and Hamilton, are landmarks in its history. Young Mackintosh delighted in contemplating the human mind and its various manifestations and actions, and felt a genuine pleasure in the investigation of the principles of morality, and of questions in the domain of jurisprudence. And this was a time well fitted to increase his ardour in those pursuits. Hume had stirred the philosophical world to its very centre; knowledge was reduced to matters of fact-the unconnected sequence of events-and relations of mere ideas; men were thrown into endless doubt; and a period of subtile scepticism was inaugurated. It was not to last long, however; for such periods are always followed by a further victory of truth. The old house was pulled down; but in its place there soon rose a new and better one. The Scotch school, headed by the illustrious Reid, reconstructed philosophy on a new basis—the basis of common sense. Reid attacked with success the sensationalism which had been founded on a misapprehension of Locke, the idealism of Berkeley, and the scepticism of Hume; showing that the first system ignores some of the most essential elements of knowledge, that our own consciousness refutes the second, while the last is nothing else than a contradiction in terms. These ideas were further developed by Stewart. The speculations of Hume, especially his Essay on Causation, had also awakened the reflective genius of Kant in Germany, and indeed marked out the subsequent course of German metaphysical thought. In short, a stimulus had been given to every department of European speculation. These and other influences common to the times operated powerfully on

Mackintosh, and, to a great extent, determined the direction in which his abilities were to put forth their strength.

Considerable impulse was given to his mind at this time by the acquisition of a new acquaintance in the person of Robert Hall, who had just come to the university. The influence of the future distinguished preacher upon the future philosopher was very marked. Hall was endowed with a mind clear, subtile, vigorous, imaginative; and these qualities were already manifested in a high degree. The two friends met frequently, and conversed with each other on the more difficult points connected with their studies, and others that were suggested in the course of their reading. They delighted in discussing questions in morals and metaphysics,—the freedom of the will, the moral sense, and the principles of human action. Hall was energetic in debate, but always viewed an argument with reference to its ethical results. Mackintosh was fluent, speculative; and could carry his principles to a triumphant issue by ingenious disputation. The former was a bold and effective advocate of moral and religious truth; the latter understood well, and could defend admirably, the principles upon which all such truth rests.

Young men, even of superior and cultivated talents, are often undecided as to the profession they should follow: they are fluctuating in their resolutions; their minds change with their circumstances. Lack of decision, even at our universities, is no uncommon thing; the Christian ministry, medicine, and law, are perpetually recurring to some students, and neither finds them at last. The greatest minds have been characterized by indecision, or something approaching to it. But this want of definiteness of aim, if not too long continued, is not altogether destitute of good. Changes in the direction of thought occasioned by circumstances, increasing knowledge, the further insight into principles,-the relation which they bear to the outward life, and the results mental and moral which flow from them,-may be the " divinity" that is "shaping our ends," while we are endeavouring to "rough-hew them." Great energies are often unconsciously trained, and often unconsciously exercised. In its efforts to rise to reason, imagination, and eloquence, genius is frequently perplexed. Hope may point to some crowning success, but it is sometimes difficult to tell where it will be found. The history of English literature affords many remarkable illustrations of this. How many, now distinguished in their respective spheres, have laboured wearily, groping their way through darkness, without knowing the true end of their toil: and how often have circumstances which were considered adverse developed and strengthened thought that but for them would never have found expression. Adversity, instead of being the enemy of mental power, is not unfrequently its truest friend. It was in the less prosperous portion of his life, that Chaucer obtained that knowledge of human nature which contributed in large measure to the production of his chief work. To Johnson, London was solitary, almost a wilderness of despair; the indigence of Goldsmith was the source of many of his best efforts. Quickness of perception, one of the marks of genius, has, in fact, a tendency to bewilder, by opening up new channels of speculation and feeling. It is difficult to understand, indeed, how the irregular, sorrowful path leads at last to success and fame. To the ordinary, unintelligent eye,

there is no spirituality, or meaning, or happiness, in a life-discipline of poverty; no nobility in the cultivation of intellectual powers under adverse circumstances; nothing to be admired in a life consecrated with pain to the high interests of humanity, and which might have been spent in ease and pleasure:

"All anarchy is art unknown to thee;

All chance, direction which thou canst not see;

All discord, harmony not understood."

Lowly, often, is the origin of a great epic, a grand history, or the regeneration of a land. Milton's blindness gave him keener spiritual sight for working out his vision of Paradise Lost; Bunyan's imprisonment gave us his glorious dream; and Wesley was nobler amid the highways and hedges in his apostolic wanderings than within the learned cloisters and halls of Oxford.

Mackintosh had some of the experience referred to: he long hesitated as to the calling he should adopt. First he desired a professorship at Aberdeen; then he inclined to the bar. But both were impracticable. Next he conceived the idea of becoming a bookseller in London, but this also was abandoned; and he finally resolved on the study of medicine at Edinburgh, to which city he repaired in 1784. The associations of this seat of learning fired his youthful ambition. It was the great resort of men of ability, the centre around which they revolved. It had many attractions for a young man like Mackintosh, and he entered on his new life with enthusiasm. At this time the Scottish capital was characterized by vigorous mental activity; the study of speculative philosophy was carried on with ardour, and in him it was natural to turn rather to morals and metaphysics than to medicine. He became a member of the "Speculative Society," and also of the "Royal Medical Society." The influence of the former in the training of orators and essayists is a matter of history; it was the arena where many distinguished men first exercised their powers of debate and talents for writing. When Mackintosh entered it he had for his associates Malcolm Laing, Thomas Addis Emmett, Charles Hope, Lewis Grant, Adam Gillies, and John Wilde; all of whom "made their mark" in after life. Besides contributing papers to this Association, he wrote some very ingenious essays on medicine for the Medical Society, with which he was directly connected. But the healing art was not congenial to his taste, for we find that he frequently introduced into his professional discussions questions relating to ethics. He however persevered so far in the study as to take his degree, and with this he completed his university career.

The student must now turn to public life. With his miscellaneous attainments, and no doubt with some variety of taste, it was difficult for him to know what should be his career, or how to begin it. He had confidence in his own abilities, but where was he to exercise them? To what practical purpose was he to put those talents that he had so successfully cultivated? At length the idea struck him,-To London !— whither so many had gone to seek their fame; where Milton, Johnson, Goldsmith, and others, had often experienced the hardships of struggling genius, the strange vicissitudes incident to a literary life pursued under pecuniary and social disadvantages. Mackintosh was not unconscious of