The  writings  of  Mark  Pattison,  which  touch  at  various
points  upon  those  of  Butler,  bear  what  may  be  termed  an
unbroken  testimony  to  their  power.  His  Essay  on  'l\eli-
gious  Thought  in  England'  includes  a  series  of  excellent
reflections  respecting  the  Analoyy  \  on  which  he  appears  to
have  bestowed  much  hard  study.  In  his  Memoirs'1  he  bears
witness  to  '  the  solid  structure  of  logical  argument,  in  which
it  surpasses  any  other  book  that  I  know  in  the  English
language.'  He  follows  up  this  weighty  judgement  with  a
passage  for  which  it  by  no  means  prepares  us.
'But  it  is  not  a  book  adapted  for  an  educational  in
strument,  as  it  diverts  the  mind  from  the  great  outlines  of
scientific  and  philosophical  thought,  and  fastens  it  upon
petty  considerations,  being  in  this  respect  the  converse  of
Bacon's  Novum  Organon.'

In  a  later  portion  of  the  same  work  he  records  with  evi
dent  satisfaction  that,  as  one  of  a  board  of  liberal  exam
iners,  he  shared  (from  his  great  ability  it  may  be  that  he
largely  shared,  or  even  led  the  way)  in  striking  Butler  off
the  list  of  books  which  might  be  taken  up  in  the  Oxford
schools3.  Mr.  Pattison's  condemnatory  proceeding  would
have  carried  great  weight,  had  he  not,  with  so  singular  a
frankness,  informed  us  of  the  reason  by  which  it  was  gov
erned.  He  has  just  before  given  us  one  reason  which  went

1  Pattison's  Essays,  edited  by  Xet-         2  Pattison's  Memoirs,  p.  134.
tleship,  vol.  ii.  p.  74  sqq.  3  /£/,/.  p.  J24.
CH.  III.]  ON  HIS  CENSORS  77

to  show  that  the  Analogy  was  admirably  suited  for  an  edu
cational  instrument,  for  it  was  the  most  solid  structure  of
logical  argument  known  to  him  in  the  English  language.
