* The age seems as anti-mountainous as it is anti-monarchical.
A late writer insinuates that if the English had spent their
millions in levelling the Andes, instead of excavating the
table-lands, society might have been benefited. These
monstrosities are decidedly useless, and therefore can neither
be sublime nor beautiful, as has been unanswerably demonstrated
by another recent writer on political aesthetics -- See also a
personal attack on Mont Blanc, in the second number of the
Foreign Quarterly Review, 1828.

'You are convinced, therefore,' he continued, 'by these observations,
that it is impossible for an individual or a nation to be too artificial
in their manners, their ideas, their laws, or their general policy;
because, in fact, the more artificial you become the nearer you approach
that state of nature of which you are so perpetually talking.' Here
observing that some of his audience appeared to be a little sceptical,
perhaps only surprised, he told them that what he said must be true,
because it entirely consisted of first principles. *

* First principles are the ingredients of positive truth. They
are immutable, as may be seen by comparing the first principles
of the eighteenth century with the first principles of the
nineteenth.

After having thus preliminarily descanted for about two hours, Popanilla
informed his Majesty that he was unused to public speaking, and then
proceeded to show that the grand characteristic of the social action *
of the Isle of Fantaisie was a total want of development. This he
observed with equal sorrow and surprise; he respected the wisdom of
their ancestors; at the same time, no one could deny that they were both