II. POLITICIAN, ATHEIST, PHILANTHROPIST. "We are assured Much may be conquered, much may be endured, Julian and Maddalo. II. POLITICIAN, ATHEIST, PHILANTHROPIST. THE sublime picture presented by the Greek dramatist, of a great and heroic being struggling against adversity and the gods, seems almost to find its modern counterpart in Shelley. We have previously seen, and shall yet more clearly witness, how he battled with the inequalities and miseries of the world. That a super-sensitive poet, and one in whom the imagination held dominant sway, should exhibit the keenest desire to benefit his fellow-men in numberless practical modes, is one of the most singular episodes in literature. Yet the intensity of Shelley's devotion to these objects was such that if his intellectual powers had been less strong and comprehensive, we should have been forced to the conclusion that he was a mere enthusiast and fanatic. A study of the method of his life, however, on its practical side, will lead to the opposite result, and convince us that his schemes for the ameliora tion of mankind sprang from a strong heart and not from an ill-balanced mind; that he was in reality far in advance of the age in which he lived-it is to be feared in advance even of ages yet to come. Had it not been that from the religious point of view "that atheist Shelley" was a bugbear to society, we should have heard more of some aspects of his character which might justly make his name illustrious. Nevertheless, after a dispassionate examination and sifting of his various projects and panaceas, and in spite of his own firm belief that he was fitted to cope with the practical government of men, I incline to the opinion that he was better adapted to be the purifier of existing systems than the originator of others. Binding up the wounds of humanity, and pouring in the oil and wine as the good Samaritan, gave a natural outflow to that all-pervading sympathy which seemed to throw a halo over his other characteristics. His impetuosity, and the wonderful force and directness of his moral sense, interfered probably with that just attitude of the judgment which should primarily distinguish the reformer who moves by gradual stages-one who does not proceed to legislative action until he has carefully weighed all objections, and obtained a satisfactory basis which permits of no injustice to one man while a benefit is being secured for his brother. Impatience is fatal to organic changes in society, and however beautiful may be the enthusiasm which glows in the earnest reformer, if it be not supported by other convincing and concrete qualities, it is apt to be evanescent and to fail in accomplishing its end. Now, Shelley was rather a destroyer than a builder; his eye was intently fixed upon one object; he desired to break up utterly the wrong and corruption of the world. As to the processes by which this grand result was to be achieved, he was not always clear; albeit he never wavered in carrying on the war against error and superstition. His enthusiasm was as noble and disinterested as that of any other man whose history has been bequeathed to us; and it extorted even from Byron the remark that Shelley was the best as well as the ablest man he had ever known. It was in consequence of the persecution which the author of Queen Mab suffered, that Byron also affirmed his belief that if the Christ people professed to worship reappeared in the flesh they would again crucify him. So that we have not to deal with a man who found a reciprocating sympathy in others, but with one who, in spite of the great excellence of his personal character and his benevolent purposes towards mankind, was hated with a malignity which was as |