Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub

264

PART III.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION.

1. Which was the greater Man, Oliver Cromwell or Napoleon Bonaparte?

See CARLYLE'S Letters and Speeches of Cromwell.
CHANNING'S Character of Napoleon.

SOUTHEY'S Cromwell.

SCOTT's Life of Napoleon.

MITCHELL'S Fall of Napoleon.

HAZLITT'S Life of Napoleon.

CARLYLE'S Hero-Worship. "The Hero as King."

ROBERT HALL on Bonaparte.

MACAULAY'S Critical Essays, vol. i. pp. 180-187.
HALLAM'S Constitutional History.

LORD BROUGHAM's Statesmen in the Reign of George III
Napoleon."

66

2. Was the Execution of Mary Queen of Scots

justifiable?

See History of England. — HUME.

P. FRASER TYTLER'S Life of Mary.
MISS STRICKLAND's Letters of Mary.
BELL'S Life of Mary.

MRS. JAMESON's Life of Mary.

See ROBERTSON's History of Scotland.
Edinburgh Review, vol. xliv. p. 37.
MISS BENGER's Life of Mary.

NOTE. This discussion will embrace the following considerations: For what crimes did Mary suffer? Did she commit the offences alleged against her? And had the law of England any jurisdiction over her?

3. Has the Invention of Gunpowder been of Benefit to Mankind?

See CHANNING on War.

GIBBON'S Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. lxv.

Edinburgh Review, vol. v. p. 471.

WILKINSON'S Engines of War.

NOTE.—It is intended to inquire by this question, Whether Gunpowder, by making war more dreadful and abhorrent, has not tended to lead mankind to its discontinuance? whether, in fact, perfection in War does not necessarily lead to the preference of Peace.

The use of Gunpowder in Mechanics may be taken into con. sideration with advantage to the discussion.

4. Which is the more valuable Member of Society, a great Mechanician or a great Poet?

See CHANNING on the Age.

EMERSON'S Essays.

Edinburgh Review, vol. xlvi. p. 365.

vol. xlvii. pp. 184-202.

See M'CULLOCH's Geographical Dictionary. Art. “British Empire."

M'CULLOCH'S Political Economy. Passim.

NOTE. This question turns upon the comparative value of a Great Doer and a Great Thinker; and lies between the utility of Mechanics and Morals: of Physics and Metaphysics. It is the belief of many of the chief writers of the day, that our age is too mechanical, and needs to be spiritualised: this debate will open that question.

5. Which was the greater Orator, Demosthenes or

Cicero?

See LORD BROUGHAM'S Essay on the Eloquence of the Ancients. Collected Speeches, vol. iv. Edinburgh Review, vol. xxviii. p. 60.

vol. xxxiii. pp. 226-246.

vol. xxxvi. pp. 86-109.

DR. ANTHON'S Cicero. With English Commentary.

NOTE. The discussion of this question must include refe rences to style, aim, and effect: artistical, mental, and moral power.

6. Which is the more despicable Character, the Hypocrite or the Liar?

See LORD BACON's Essay on Truth.

TILLOTSON, on the Advantages of Truth and Sincerity.
BISHOP HALL. Character of the Hypocrite.

CARLYLE'S Miscellanies.

MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT.

Cagliostro.

Character of Pecksniff.

7. Has the Fear of Punishment, or the Hope of Reward, the greater Influence on Human Conduct?

See ADAM SMITH's Theory of the Moral Sentiments.
MILL on the Human Mind.

BENTHAM'S Springs of Action.

DUGALD STEWART on the Mind.

BENTHAM'S Rationale of Reward and Punishment.

NOTE. This question involves considerations of great importance. It has to do with Education, Government, and Religion. The fear of punishment is the principle usually supposed to influence us, and upon this principle, for the most part, education, laws, and religious instruction are founded: but many of the wisest men are beginning to doubt this system.

8. Is Corporal Punishment justifiable?

See EDGEWORTH's Practical Education.

WILDERSPIN'S Education of the Young.

MARSHALL'S Military Miscellany.

HANSARD, "Debates on Flogging in the Army."

Edinburgh Review, vol. xii. p. 420.
SYDNEY TAYLOR's Works, p. 195.

9. Was Brutus justified in killing Cæsar?

See the Speech of Brutus in Shakspere's Julius Cæsar, Act III. Scene 2.

SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH'S Works, vol. iii. p. 274., vol. ii. pp. 318-325.

HUME'S Essays, vol. i. pp. 471., &c.

vol. ii. p. 228.

NOTE. This question must be tried by the morals of the time when the act took place, and not by the present standard of morality. It is quite necessary to make this distinction.

10. Should Emulation be encouraged in Education?

See EDGEWORTH'S Practical Education.

GODWIN'S Reflections on Education.

COWPER'S Tirocinium.

ADAM SMITH'S Theory of the Moral Sentiments. COLERIDGE'S Lines, entitled, "Love, Hope, and Patience in Education."

HOBBES on Envy and Emulation.

SYDNEY SMITH's Works, vol. i. pp. 221–231.

NOTE.-The system of prize-giving in education has supporters and opponents, both so determined, that a discussion upon the subject cannot fail to be interesting and instructive. Philosophy and experience should both be referred to in the debate.

11. Which was the greater Poet, Milton or Homer?

See COLERIDGE on the Greek Poets.

CHANNING on Milton.

BLAIR'S Lectures,

CAMPBELL on Milton.

ROBERT HALL on Poetic Genius.
THIRLWALL'S Greece, vol. i. p. 24.
MACAULAY'S Essays, vol. i. pp. 1-32.

BRANDE'S Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art.
"Epic Poetry ;" and the authorities there quoted.

NOTE. - This debate will turn upon the facts that Homer is the more real, life-like, and human poet, whilst Milton is the

« VorigeDoorgaan »