isement, and is in very truth "The
Metaphysical Cure."

Perhaps it were better to cancel the preceding paragraphs. Is not any
savor of banter out of place in the reception we are bound to accord to
an alleged solution of the unthinkable problem which underlies creation
and man's position therein? If the impulse which first controlled us is
not denied expression, it is because it implies at once the worst that
can be said of a very extraordinary performance. Let this worst be
written roughly, and in a single sentence. To the vast majority of
upright and thoughtful men who are at present living and laboring in the
world, Mr. Frothingham's "Philosophy as Absolute Science" can be saved
from being infinitely repulsive only by being infinitely ridiculous. But
to stop with this assertion would give no adequate impression of an
earnest and most conscientious work. A remarkable mind, even if a
misdirected one, has mounted upon the battlements of its system, and
proclaimed victory over all things. Of all tellers of marvels,
Swedenborg alone is so absolutely free from a vulgar fanaticism, and so
innocent of any appeal to passion, prejudice, or taste. With an
equipoise of disposition which is almost provoking, Mr. Frothingham
announces as dogmas speculations from whose sweep and immensity the
human mind recoils. Having posited his principles, he confidently
proceeds to deduce a system which shall include every spiritual and
material fact of which man can take cognizance. And he is too genuine a
philosopher to be troubled at the practical application of his
discoveries. He repudiates with contempt whatever expression has been
found for the energy of the purest and noblest leaders of modern
society. Esculapius is not accommodated with the sacrifice of so much as
a February chicken. The manly works of Wilberforce and Garrison, the
gracious influence of Channing, the stalwart conviction of Parker, the
deep perception of Emerson,--all these must be beaten down under our
feet as the incarnate Satan of the Litany. But if this is rather rough
treatment for the advance-guard of civilization, the brethren in the
rear rank are prevented from taking the comfort to which they seem to be
justly entitled. For we are utterly unable to understand what a recent
reviewer means in commending this work to conservatives as a noble
text-book and grand summary of arguments in favor of their positions.
The truth is, that no conservative can possibly accept