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"It is perhaps true that the secret of trade may not consist like that of arms (according to the definition of the bully in the Bourgeois Gentilhomme) in giving and not receiving.” (Sophism VI.)

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I understand that the

more an article has been labored, the more is its value. But in trade, do two equal values cease to be equal, because one comes from the plough, and the other from the workshop?" (Sophism XXI.)

"I confess that I begin to think it singular that mankind should be the better of hinderances and obstacles, or should grow rich upon taxes; and truly I would be relieved from some anxiety, would be really happy to see the proof of the fact, as stated by the author of "the Sophisms," that there is no incompatibility between prosperity and justice, between peace and liberty, between the extension of labor and the advance of intelligence." (Sophisms XIV and XX.)

Without, then, giving up entirely to arguments, which I am yet in doubt whether to look upon as fairly reasoned, or as paradoxical, I will at least seek enlightenment from the masters of the science."

I will now terminate this sketch by a last and important recapitulation.

The world is not sufficiently conscious of the influence exercised over it by Sophistry.

When might ceases to be right, and the government

of mere strength is dethroned, Sophistry transfers the empire to cunning and subtilty. It would be difficult to determine which of the two tyrannies is most injurious to mankind.

Men have an immoderate love for pleasure, influence, consideration, power, in a word, for riches; and they are by an almost unconquerable inclination, pushed to procure these, at the expense of others.

But these others, who form the public, have a no less strong inclination to keep what they have acquired; and this they will do, if they have the strength and the knowledge to effect it.

Spoliation, which plays so important a part in the affairs of this world, has then two agents; Force and Cunning. She has also two checks; Courage and Knowledge.

Force applied to spoliation, furnishes the great material for the annals of men. To retrace its history would be to present almost the entire history of every nation: Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Goths, Franks, Huns, Turks, Arabs, Moguls, Tartars, without counting the more recent expeditions of the English in India, the French in Africa, the Russians in Asia, &c., &c.

But among civilized nations surely the producers of riches are now become sufficiently numerous and strong, to defend themselves.

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Does this mean that they are no longer robbed ? They are as much so as ever, and moreover they rob one another.

The only difference is that Spoliation has changed her agent. She acts no longer by Force, but by Cunning.

To rob the public, it is necessary to deceive them. To deceive them, it is necessary to persuade them that they are robbed for their own advantage, and to induce them to accept in exchange for their property, imaginary services, and often worse. Hence spring Sophisms in all their varieties-Theocratic Sophisms, Political Sophisms, Financial Sophisms. Then, since Force is held in check, Sophistry is no longer only an evil; it is the genius of evil, and requires a check in its turn. This check must be the enlightenment of the public, which must be rendered more subtle than the subtle, as it is already stronger than the strong.

GOOD PUBLIC! I now dedicate to you this first 'essay; though it must be confessed that the Preface is strangely transposed, and the Dedication a little tardy.

THE END.

142 Strand, LONDON.

New Works in Press,

Wiley & Putnam.

Or recently published, by GEORGE P. PUTNAM, 155 Broadway.

G. P. PUTNAM has the pleasure of announcing that, agreeably to his contract with the distinguished author, he has now in the course of publication

A new, uniform, and complete edition

OF THE

Works of Washington Irving,
Revised and enlarged by the Author,

In Twelve Elegant Duodecimo Volumes,

Beautifully printed with new type, and on superior paper, made expressly for the purpose. The first volume of the Series will be

The Sketch-Book,

complete in one volume,

which will be ready on the first day of September.

Knickerbocker's History of New York, with revisions and copious additions,

will be published on the 1st of October.

The Life and Voyages of Columbus,

Vol. I. on the 1st of November,

and the succeeding volumes will be issued on the first day of each month until completed; as follows:

The Sketch-Book, in one volume.
Knickerbocker's New York, in one
volume.

Tales of a Traveller, in one volume.
Bracebridge Hall, in one volume.
The Conquest of Grenada, in one
volume.

The Alhambra, in one volume.
The Spanish Legends, in one vol.

The Illustrated

The Crayon Miscellany, in one
vol. Abbotsford, Newstead,
The Prairies, &c.

Life and Voyages of Columbus,
and The Companions of Co-
lumbus, 2 vols.
Adventures of Captain Bonneville,
one vol.
Astoria, one volume.

Sketch-Book.

In October will be published,

The Sketch-Book.

BY WASHINGTON IRVING.

One volume, square octavo.

Illustrated with a series of highly-finished Engravings on wood, from Designs by Darley and others, engraved in the best style by Childs, Herrick, &c. This edition will be printed on paper of the finest quality, similar in size and style to the new edition of "Halleck's Poems. It is intended that the illustrations shall be superior to any engravings on wood yet produced in this country, and that the mechanical execution of the volume, altogether, shall be worthy of the author's reputation. It will form an elegant and appropriate giftbook for all seasons.

The Illustrated Knickerbocker,

With a series of Original Designs, in one vol., octavo, is also in preparation.

Mr. Putnam has also the honor to announce that he will publish at intervals (in con nexion, and uniform with the other collected writings),

Mr. Irving's New Works,

now nearly ready for the press including

The Life of Mohammed, The Life of Washington, New volumes of Miscellanies, Biographies, &c.

This being the first uniform and complete edition of Mr. Irving's works, either in this country or in Europe, the publisher confidently believes that the undertaking will meet with a prompt and cordial response. To say this, is perhaps superfluous and impertinent; for it is a truism that no American book-case (not to say library) can be well filled without the works of Washington Irving; while the English language itself comprises no purer models of composition.

G. P. Putnam has also made arrangements for the early commencement of new works or new editions of the works of

Miss C. M. Sedgewick,
Charles Fenno Hoffman,
George H. Calvert,
J. Bayard Taylor,
S. Wells Williams,
A. J. Downing,
Prof. A. Gray,

Mrs. E. Oakes Smith,

Mrs. C. M. Kirkland,

Mary Howitt,

W M. Thackeray,
Thos. Hood,

Leigh Hunt,
Thomas Carlyle,

R Monckton Milnes,
Mrs. Jameson,
Charles Lamb,

Elliot Warburton.

m

The following new works are now ready, or will be published this season:

.I.

Sophisms of the Protective Policy.

Translated from the French of F. Bastiat. With an introduction by Francis Lieber, LL.D. Professor in South Carolina College, Editor of the Encyclopædia Ainericana, &c. 12mo.

II.

Grecian and Roman Mythology:

With original illustrations. Adapted for the use of Universities and High Schools, and for popular reading. By M. A. Dwight. With an introduction by Tayler Lewis, Professor of Greek, University of New York. 12mo. (On 1st September.)

Also a fine edition in octavo, with illustrations.

*** This work has been prepared with great care, illustrated with 20 effective outline drawings, and is designed to treat the subject in an original, comprehensive, and unexceptionable manner, so as to fill the place as a text book which is yet unsupplied; while it will also be an attractive and readable table book for general use It will be at once introduced as a text-book in the University of New York and other colleges and schools.

III.

Eureka: a Prose Poem.

Or the Physical and Metaphysical Universe.

By Edgar A. Poe, Esq. Handsomely printed. 12mo. Cloth

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