,,thoughts ,,on ,,man  ,,his ,,nature1  
,,productions ,,and ,,discoveries       
,,interspersed ,,with ,,some            
,,particulars ,,respecting ,,the        
,,author   ,by ,william ,godwin         
,oh1 the blood more stirs               
,to rouse a lion1 than to start a hare6 
,,shakespeare   ,,london3  ,,effingham  
,,wilson1 ,,royal ,,exchange4  #ahca4   
,,preface  ,in the ensuing volume ,i    
have attempted to give a defined and    
permanent form to a variety of thoughts1
 which have occurred to my mind in the  
course of thirty-four years1 it being so
 long since ,i published a volume1      
entitled1 the ,enquirer1--thoughts1     
which1 if they have presented themselves
 to other men1 have1 at least so far as 
,i am aware1 never been given to the    
public through the medium of the press4 
,during a part of this period ,i had    
remained to a considerable degree       
unoccupied in my character of an author1
 and had delivered little to the press  
that bore my name4--,and ,i beg the     

reader to believe1 that1 since ,i       
entered in #agia upon that which may be 
considered as my vocation in life1 ,i   
have scarcely in any instance           
contributed a page to any periodical    
miscellany4  ,my mind has been          
constitutionally meditative1 and ,i     
should not have felt satisfied1 if ,i   
had not set in order for publication    
these special fruits of my meditations4 
,i had entered upon a certain career2   
and ,i held it for my duty not to       
abandon it4  ,one thing further ,i feel 
prompted to say4 ,i have always regarded
 it as my office to address myself to   
plain men1 and in clear and unambiguous 
terms4 ,it has been my lot to have      
occasional intercourse with some of     
those who consider themselves as        
profound1 who deliver their oracles in  
obscure phraseology1 and who make it    
their boast that few men can understand 
them1 and those few only through a      
process of abstract reflection1 and by  
means of unwearied application4  ,to    

this class of the oracular ,i certainly 
did not belong4 ,i felt that ,i had     
nothing to say1 that it should be very  
difficult to understand4 ,i resolved1 if
 ,i could help it1 not to darken counsel
 by words without knowledge4 ,this was  
my principle in the ,enquiry concerning 
,political ,justice4 ,and ,i had my     
reward4 ,i had a numerous audience of   
all classes1 of every age1 and of either
 sex4 ,the young and the fair did not   
feel deterred from consulting my pages4 
,it may be that that book was published 
in a propitious season4 ,i am told that 
nothing coming from the press will now  
be welcomed1 unless it presents itself  
in the express form of amusement4 ,he   
who shall propose to himself for his    
principal end1 to draw aside in one     
particular or another the veil from the 
majesty of intellectual or moral truth1 
must lay his account in being received  
with little attention4  ,i have not been
 willing to believe this3 and ,i publish
 my speculations accordingly4 ,i have   

aimed at a popular1 and 7if ,i could    
reach it7 an interesting style2 and1 if 
,i am thrust aside and disregarded1 ,i  
shall console myself with believing that
 ,i have not neglected what it was in my
 power to achieve4  ,one characteristic 
of the present publication will not fail
 to offer itself to the most superficial
 reader4 ,i know many men who are       
misanthropes1 and profess to look down  
with disdain on their species4 ,my creed
 is of an opposite character4 ,all that 
we observe that is best and most        
excellent in the intellectual world1 is 
man3 and it is easy to perceive in many 
cases1 that the believer in mysteries   
does little more1 than dress up his     
deity in the choicest of human          
attributes and qualifications4 ,i have  
lived among1 and ,i feel an ardent      
interest in and love for1 my brethren of
 mankind4 ,this sentiment1 which ,i     
regard with complacency in my own       
breast1 ,i would gladly cherish in      
others4 ,in such a cause ,i am well     

pleased to enrol myself a missionary4   
,february #ae1 #ahca4   ,the particulars
 respecting the author1 referred to in  
the title-page1 will be found           
principally in ,essays ,,vii1 ,,ix1     
,,xiv1 and ,,xviii4   ,,contents        
,essay4      ,i4      ,of ,body and     
,mind4  ,the ,prologue      ,,ii4       
,of the ,distribution of ,talents       
,,iii4    ,of ,intellectual ,abortion   
,,iv4     ,of the ,durability of ,human 
,achievements and ,productions      ,v4 
,of the ,rebelliousness of ,man         
,,vi4     ,of ,human ,innocence         
,,vii4    ,of the ,duration of ,human   
,life      ,,viii4   ,of ,human         
,vegetation      ,,ix4     ,of ,leisure 
,x4      ,of ,imitation and ,invention  
,,xi4     ,of ,self-,love and           
,benevolence      ,,xii4    ,of the     
,liberty of ,human ,actions      ,,xiii4
   ,of ,belief      ,,xiv4    ,of ,youth
 and ,age      ,,xv4     ,of ,love and  
,friendship      ,,xvi4    ,of          
,frankness and ,reserve      ,,xvii4    

,of ,ballot      ,,xviii4  ,of          
,diffidence      ,,xix4    ,of ,self    
,complacence      ,,xx4     ,of         
,phrenology      ,,xxi4    ,of          
,astronomy      ,,xxii4   ,of the       
,material ,universe      ,,xxiii4  ,of  
,human ,virtue4  ,the ,epilogue         
,,thoughts1 c4     ,,essay ,i4 ,,of     
,,body ,,and ,,mind4  ,,the ,,prologue4 
,there is no subject that more          
frequently occupies the attention of the
 contemplative than man3 yet there are  
many circumstances concerning him that  
we shall hardly admit to have been      
sufficiently considered4  ,familiarity  
breeds contempt4 ,that which we see     
every day and every hour1 it is         
difficult for us to regard with         
admiration4 ,to almost every one of our 
stronger emotions novelty is a necessary
 ingredient4 ,the simple appetites of   
our nature may perhaps form an          
exception4 ,the appetite for food is    
perpetually renewed in a healthy subject
 with scarcely any diminution and love1 

even the most refined1 being combined   
with one of our original impulses1 will 
sometimes for that reason withstand a   
thousand trials1 and perpetuate itself  
for years4 ,in all other cases it is    
required1 that a fresh impulse should be
 given1 that attention should anew be   
excited1 or we cannot admire4 ,things   
often seen pass feebly before our       
senses1 and scarcely awake the languid  
soul4  ,man is the most excellent and   
noble creature of the world1 the        
principal and mighty work of ,god1 the  
wonder of nature1 the marvel of         
marvels7#a74      7#a7 ,anatomy of      
,melancholy1 p4 #a4   ,let us have      
regard to his corporeal structure4      
,there is a simplicity in it1 that at   
first perhaps we slightly consider4 ,but
 how exactly is it fashioned for        
strength and agility6 ,it is in no way  
incumbered4 ,it is like the marble when 
it comes out of the hand of the         
consummate sculptor2 every thing        
unnecessary is carefully chiseled away2 

and the joints1 the muscles1 the        
articulations1 and the veins come out1  
clean and finished4 ,it has long ago    
been observed1 that beauty1 as well as  
virtue1 is the middle between all       
extremes3 that nose which is neither    
specially long1 nor short1 nor thick1   
nor thin1 is the perfect nose2 and so of
 the rest4 ,in like manner1 when ,i     
speak of man generally1 ,i do not regard
 any aberrations of form1 obesity1 a    
thick calf1 a thin calf2 ,i take the    
middle between all extremes2 and this is
 emphatically man4  ,man cannot keep    
pace with a starting horse3 but he can  
persevere1 and beats him in the end4    
,what an infinite variety of works is   
man by his corporeal form enabled to    
accomplish6 ,in this respect he casts   
the whole creation behind him4  ,what a 
machine is the human hand6 ,when we     
analyse its parts and its uses1 it      
appears to be the most consummate of our
 members4 ,and yet there are other      
parts1 that may maintain no mean        

rivalship against it4  ,what a sublimity
 is to be attributed to his upright     
form6 ,he is not fashioned1 veluti      
pecora1 quae natura prona atque ventri  
obedientia finxit4 ,he is made coeli    
convexa tueri4 ,the looks that are given
 him in his original structure1 are     
looks commercing with the skies4  ,how  
surpassingly beautiful are the features 
of his countenance2 the eyes1 the nose1 
the mouth6 ,how noble do they appear in 
a state of repose6 ,with what           
never-ending variety and emphasis do    
they express the emotions of his mind6  
,in the visage of man1 uncorrupted and  
undebased1 we read the frankness and    
ingenuousness of his soul1 the clearness
 of his reflections1 the penetration of 
his spirit4 ,what a volume of           
understanding is unrolled in his broad1 
expanded1 lofty brow6 ,in his           
countenance we see expressed at one time
 sedate confidence and awful            
intrepidity1 and at another godlike     
condescension and the most melting      

tenderness4 ,who can behold the human   
eye1 suddenly suffused with moisture1 or
 gushing with tears unbid1 and the      
quivering lip1 without unspeakable      
emotion8 ,shakespear talks of an eye1   
whose bend could awe the world4  ,what a
 miraculous thing is the human          
complexion6 ,we are sent into the world 
naked1 that all the variations of the   
blood might be made visible4 ,however   
trite1 ,i cannot avoid quoting here the 
lines of the most deep-thinking and     
philosophical of our poets3             
,we understood       ,her by her sight3 
her pure and eloquent blood       ,spoke
 in her cheeks1 and so distinctly       
wrought1       ,that one might almost   
say her body thought4  ,what a curious  
phenomenon is that of blushing6 ,it is  
impossible to witness this phenomenon   
without interest and sympathy4 ,it comes
 at once1 unanticipated by the person in
 whom we behold it4 ,it comes from the  
soul1 and expresses with equal certainty
 shame1 modesty1 and vivid1             

uncontrollable affection4 ,it spreads1  
as it were in so many stages1 over the  
cheeks1 the brow1 and the neck1 of him  
or her in whom the sentiment that gives 
birth to it is working4  ,thus far ,i   
have not mentioned speech1 not perhaps  
the most inestimable of human gifts1    
but1 if it is not that1 it is at least  
the endowment1 which makes man social1  
by which principally we impart our      
sentiments to each other1 and which     
changes us from solitary individuals1   
and bestows on us a duplicate and       
multipliable existence4 ,beside which it
 incalculably increases the perfection  
of one4 ,the man who does not speak1 is 
an unfledged thinker2 and the man that  
does not write1 is but half an          
investigator4  ,not to enter into all   
the mysteries of articulate speech and  
the irresistible power of eloquence1    
whether addressed to a single hearer1 or
 instilled into the ears of many1--a    
topic that belongs perhaps less to the  
chapter of body than mind1--let us for a

 moment fix our thoughts steadily upon  
that little implement1 the human voice4 
,of what unnumbered modulations is it   
susceptible6 ,what terror may it        
inspire6 ,how may it electrify the soul1
 and suspend all its functions6 ,how    
infinite is its melody6 ,how instantly  
it subdues the hearer to pity or to     
love6 ,how does the listener hang upon  
every note praying that it may last for 
ever1                 ----that even     
silence       ,was took ere she was     
ware1 and wished she might       ,deny  
her nature1 and be never more1          
,still to be so displaced4  ,it is here 
especially that we are presented with   
the triumphs of civilisation4 ,how      
immeasurable is the distance between the
 voice of the clown1 who never thought  
of the power that dwells in this        
faculty1 who delivers himself in a rude1
 discordant and unmodulated accent1 and 
is accustomed to confer with his fellow 
at the distance of two fields1 and the  
man who understands his instrument as   

,handel understood the organ1 and who1  
whether he thinks of it or no1 sways    
those that hear him as implicitly as    
,orpheus is said to have subdued the    
brute creation6  ,from the countenance  
of man let us proceed to his figure4    
,every limb is capable of speaking1 and 
telling its own tale4 ,what can equal   
the magnificence of the neck1 the column
 upon which the head reposes6 ,the ample
 chest may denote an almost infinite    
strength and power4 ,let us call to mind
 the ,apollo ,belvidere1 and the ,venus 
de ,medicis1 whose very bends are       
adornings4 ,what loftiness and awe have 
,i seen expressed in the step of an     
actress1 not yet deceased1 when first   
she advanced1 and came down towards the 
audience6 ,i was ravished1 and with     
difficulty kept my seat6 ,pass we to the
 mazes of the dance1 the inimitable     
charms and picturesque beauty that may  
be given to the figure while still      
unmoved1 and the ravishing grace that   
dwells in it during its endless changes 

and evolutions4  ,the upright figure of 
man produces1 incidentally as it were1  
and by the bye1 another memorable       
effect4 ,hence we derive the power of   
meeting in halls1 and congregations1 and
 crowded assemblies4 ,we are found at   
large1 though without number1 at solemn 
commemorations and on festive occasions4
 ,we touch each other1 as the members of
 a gay party are accustomed to do1 when 
they wait the stroke of an electrical   
machine1 and the spark spreads along    
from man to man4 ,it is thus that we    
have our feelings in common at a        
theatrical representation and at a      
public dinner1 that indignation is      
communicated1 and patriotism become     
irrepressible4  ,one man can convey his 
sentiments in articulate speech to a    
thousand2 and this is the nursing mother
 of oratory1 of public morality1 of     
public religion1 and the drama4 ,the    
privilege we thus possess1 we are indeed
 too apt to abuse2 but man is scarcely  
ever so magnificent and so awful1 as    

when hundreds of human heads are        
assembled together1 hundreds of faces   
lifted up to contemplate one object1 and
 hundreds of voices uttered in the      
expression of one common sentiment4     
,but1 notwithstanding the infinite      
beauty1 the magazine of excellencies and
 perfections1 that appertains to the    
human body1 the mind claims1 and justly 
claims1 an undoubted superiority4 ,i am 
not going into an enumeration of the    
various faculties and endowments of the 
mind of man1 as ,i have done of his     
body4 ,the latter was necessary for my  
purpose4 ,before ,i proceeded to        
consider the ascendancy of mind1 the    
dominion and loftiness it is accustomed 
to assert1 it appeared but just to      
recollect what was the nature and value 
of its subject and its slave4  ,by the  
mind we understand that within us which 
feels and thinks1 the seat of sensation 
and reason4 ,where it resides we cannot 
tell1 nor can authoritatively pronounce1
 as the apostle says1 relatively to a   

particular phenomenon1 whether it is in 
the body1 or out of the body4 ,be it    
however where or what it may1 it is this
 which constitutes the great essence of1
 and gives value to1 our existence2 and 
all the wonders of our microcosm would  
without it be a form only1 destined     
immediately to perish1 and of no greater
 account than as a clod of the valley4  
,it was an important remark1 suggested  
to me many years ago by an eminent      
physiologer and anatomist1 that1 when ,i
 find my attention called to any        
particular part or member of my body1 ,i
 may be morally sure that there is      
something amiss in the processes of that
 part or member4 ,as long as the whole  
economy of the frame goes on well and   
without interruption1 our attention is  
not called to it4 ,the intellectual man 
is like a disembodied spirit4  ,he is   
almost in the state of the dervise in   
the ,arabian ,nights1 who had the power 
of darting his soul into the unanimated 
body of another1 human or brute1 while  

he left his own body in the condition of
 an insensible carcase1 till it should  
be revivified by the same or some other 
spirit4 ,when ,i am1 as it is vulgarly  
understood1 in a state of motion1 ,i use
 my limbs as the implements of my will4 
,when1 in a quiescent state of the body1
 ,i continue to think1 to reflect and to
 reason1 ,i use1 it may be1 the         
substance of the brain as the implement 
of my thinking1 reflecting and          
reasoning2 though of this in fact we    
know nothing4  ,we have every reason to 
believe that the mind cannot subsist    
without the body2 at least we must be   
very different creatures from what we   
are at present1 when that shall take    
place4 ,for a man to think1 agreeably   
and with serenity1 he must be in some   
degree of health4 ,the corpus sanum is  
no less indispensible than the mens     
sana4 ,we must eat1 and drink1 and      
sleep4 ,we must have a reasonably good  
appetite and digestion1 and a fitting   
temperature1 neither too hot nor cold4  

,it is desirable that we should have air
 and exercise4 ,but this is instrumental
 merely4 ,all these things are          
negatives1 conditions without which we  
cannot think to the best purpose1 but   
which lend no active assistance to our  
thinking4  ,man is a godlike being4 ,we 
launch ourselves in conceit into        
illimitable space1 and take up our rest 
beyond the fixed stars4 ,we proceed     
without impediment from country to      
country1 and from century to century1   
through all the ages of the past1 and   
through the vast creation of the        
imaginable future4 ,we spurn at the     
bounds of time and space2 nor would the 
thought be less futile that imagines to 
imprison the mind within the limits of  
the body1 than the attempt of the booby 
clown who is said within a thick hedge  
to have plotted to shut in the flight of
 an eagle4  ,we never find our attention
 called to any particular part or member
 of the body1 except when there is      
somewhat amiss in that part or member4  

,and1 in like manner as we do not think 
of any one part or member in particular1
 so neither do we consider our entire   
microcosm and frame4 ,the body is       
apprehended as no more important and of 
intimate connection to a man engaged in 
a train of reflections1 than the house  
or apartment in which he dwells4 ,the   
mind may aptly be described under the   
denomination of the stranger at home4   
,on set occasions and at appropriate    
times we examine our stores1 and        
ascertain the various commodities we    
have1 laid up in our presses and our    
coffers4 ,like the governor of a fort in
 time of peace1 which was erected to    
keep out a foreign assailant1 we        
occasionally visit our armoury1 and take
 account of the muskets1 the swords1 and
 other implements of war it contains1   
but for the most part are engaged in the
 occupations of peace1 and do not call  
the means of warfare in any sort to our 
recollection4  ,the mind may aptly be   
described under the denomination of the 

stranger at home4 ,with their bodies    
most men are little acquainted4 ,we are 
like unto a man beholding his natural   
face in a glass1 who beholdeth himself1 
and goeth his way1 and straightway      
forgetteth what manner of man he is4 ,in
 the ruminations of the inner man1 and  
the dissecting our thoughts and desires1
 we employ our intellectual arithmetic1 
we add1 and subtract1 and multiply1 and 
divide1 without asking the aid1 without 
adverting to the existence1 of our      
joints and members4 ,even as to the more
 corporeal part of our avocations1 we   
behold the external world1 and proceed  
straight to the object of our desires1  
without almost ever thinking of this    
medium1 our own material frame1 unaided 
by which none of these things could be  
accomplished4 ,in this sense we may     
properly be said to be spiritual        
existences1 however imperfect may be the
 idea we are enabled to affix to the    
term spirit4  ,hence arises the notion1 
which has been entertained ever since   

the birth of reflection and logical     
discourse in the world1 and which in    
some faint and confused degree exists   
probably even among savages1 that the   
body is the prison of the mind4 ,it is  
in this sense that ,waller1 after       
completing fourscore years of age1      
expresses himself in these affecting and
 interesting couplets4        ,when we  
for age could neither read nor write1   
,the subject made us able to indite4    
,the soul's dark cottage1 battered and  
decayed1       ,lets in new light by    
chinks that time hath made3             
,stronger by weakness1 wiser1 men       
become1       ,as they draw near to     
their eternal home4  ,thus it is common 
with persons of elevated soul to talk of
 neglecting1 overlooking1 and taking    
small account of the body4 ,it is in    
this spirit that the story is recorded  
of ,anaxarchus1 who1 we are told1 was   
ordered by ,nicocreon1 tyrant of        
,salamis1 to be pounded in a mortar1 and
 who1 in contempt of his mortal         

sufferings1 exclaimed1 ,beat on1 tyrant6
 thou dost but strike upon the case of  
,anaxarchus2 thou canst not touch the   
man himself4 ,and it is in something of 
the same light that we must regard what 
is related of the ,north ,american      
savages4 ,beings1 who scoff at their    
tortures1 must have an idea of something
 that lies beyond the reach of their    
assailants4  ,it is just however to     
observe1 that some of the particulars   
here related1 belong not less to the    
brute creation than to man4 ,if men are 
imperfectly acquainted with their       
external figure and appearance1 this may
 well be conceived to be still more     
predicable of the inferior animals4 ,it 
is true that all of them seem to be     
aware of the part in their structure1   
where lie their main strength and means 
of hostility4 ,thus the bull attacks    
with his horns1 and the horse with his  
heels1 the beast of prey with his claws1
 the bird with his beak1 and insects and
 other venomous creatures with their    

sting4 ,we know not by what impulse they
 are prompted to the use of the various 
means which are so intimately connected 
with their preservation and welfare2 and
 we call it instinct4 ,we may be certain
 it does not arise from a careful survey
 of their parts and members1 and a      
methodised selection of the means which 
shall be found most effectual for the   
accomplishment of their ends4 ,there is 
no premeditation2 and1 without          
anatomical knowledge1 or any distinct   
acquaintance with their image and       
likeness1 they proceed straight to their
 purpose4  ,hence1 even as men1 they are
 more familiar with the figures and     
appearance of their fellows1 their      
allies1 or their enemies1 than with     
their own4  ,man is a creature of       
mingled substance4 ,i am many times a   
day compelled to acknowledge what a low1
 mean and contemptible being ,i am4     
,philip of ,macedon had no need to give 
it in charge to a page1 to repair to him
 every morning1 and repeat1 ,remember1  

sir1 you are a man4 ,a variety of       
circumstances occur to us1 while we eat1
 and drink1 and submit to the           
humiliating necessities of nature1 that 
may well inculcate into us this salutary
 lesson4 ,the wonder rather is1 that    
man1 who has so many things to put him  
in mind to be humble and despise        
himself1 should ever have been          
susceptible of pride and disdain4       
,nebuchadnezzar must indeed have been   
the most besotted of mortals1 if it were
 necessary that he should be driven from
 among men1 and made to eat grass like  
an ox1 to convince him that he was not  
the equal of the power that made him4   
,but fortunately1 as ,i have said1 man  
is a stranger at home4 ,were it not for 
this1 how incomprehensible would be     
,the ceremony that to great ones 'longs1
       ,the monarch's crown1 and the    
deputed sword1       ,the marshal's     
truncheon1 and the judge's robe6  ,how  
ludicrous would be the long procession  
and the caparisoned horse1 the gilded   

chariot and the flowing train1 the      
colours flying1 the drums beating1 and  
the sound of trumpets rending the air1  
which after all only introduce to us an 
ordinary man1 no otherwise perhaps      
distinguished from the vilest of the    
ragged spectators1 than by the accident 
of his birth6  ,but what is of more     
importance in the temporary oblivion we 
are enabled to throw over the refuse of 
the body1 it is thus we arrive at the   
majesty of man4 ,that sublimity of      
conception which renders the poet1 and  
the man of great literary and original  
endowments in apprehension like a ,god1 
we could not have1 if we were not       
privileged occasionally to cast away the
 slough and exuviae of the body from    
incumbering and dishonouring us1 even as
 ,ulysses passed over his threshold1    
stripped of the rags that had obscured  
him1 while ,minerva enlarged his frame1 
and gave loftiness to his stature1 added
 a youthful beauty and grace to his     
motions1 and caused his eyes to flash   

with more than mortal fire4 ,with what  
disdain1 when ,i have been rapt in the  
loftiest moods of mind1 do ,i look down 
upon my limbs1 the house of clay that   
contains me1 the gross flesh and blood  
of which my frame is composed1 and      
wonder at a lodging1 poorly fitted to   
entertain so divine a guest6  ,a still  
more important chapter in the history of
 the human mind has its origin in these 
considerations4 ,hence it is that       
unenlightened man1 in almost all ages   
and countries1 has been induced1        
independently of divine revelation1 to  
regard death1 the most awful event to   
which we are subject1 as not being the  
termination of his existence4 ,we see   
the body of our friend become           
insensible1 and remain without motion1  
or any external indication of what we   
call life4 ,we can shut it up in an     
apartment1 and visit it from day to day4
 ,if we had perseverance enough1 and    
could so far conquer the repugnance and 
humiliating feeling with which the      

experiment would be attended1 we might  
follow step by step the process of      
decomposition and putrefaction1 and     
observe by what degrees the dust        
returned unto earth as it was4 ,but1 in 
spite of this demonstration of the      
senses1 man still believes that there is
 something in him that lives after      
death4 ,the mind is so infinitely       
superior in character to this case of   
flesh that incloses it1 that he cannot  
persuade himself that it and the body   
perish together4  ,there are two        
considerations1 the force of which made 
man a religious animal4 ,the first is1  
his proneness to ascribe hostility or   
benevolent intention to every thing of a
 memorable sort that occurs to him in   
the order of nature4 ,the second is that
 of which ,i have just treated1 the     
superior dignity of mind over body4     
,this1 we persuade ourselves1 shall     
subsist uninjured by the mutations of   
our corporeal frame1 and undestroyed by 
the wreck of the material universe4     

,,essay ,,ii4 ,,of ,,the ,,distribution 
,,of ,,talents4  ,greek--omitted        
,thucydides1 ,lib4,i1 cap4 #hd4         
,,section ,i4  ,,presumed ,,dearth ,,of 
,,intellectual ,,power4--,,schools ,,for
 ,,the ,,education ,,of ,,youth         
,,considered4--,,the ,,boy ,,and ,,the  
,,man ,,compared4  ,one of the earliest 
judgments that is usually made by those 
whose attention is turned to the        
characters of men in the social state1  
is of the great inequality with which   
the gifts of the understanding are      
distributed among us4  ,go into a       
miscellaneous society2 sit down at table
 with ten or twelve men2 repair to a    
club where as many are assembled in an  
evening to relax from the toils of the  
day--it is almost proverbial1 that one  
or two of these persons will perhaps be 
brilliant1 and the rest weary1 stale1   
flat and unprofitable4  ,go into a      
numerous school--the case will be still 
more striking4 ,i have been present     
where two men of superior endowments    

endeavoured to enter into a calculation 
on the subject2 and they agreed that    
there was not above one boy in a        
hundred1 who would be found to possess a
 penetrating understanding1 and to be   
able to strike into a path of intellect 
that was truly his own4 ,how common is  
it to hear the master of such a school  
say1 ,aye1 ,i am proud of that lad2 ,i  
have been a schoolmaster these thirty   
years1 and have never had such another6 
,the society above referred to1 the     
dinner-party1 or the club1 was to a     
considerable degree select1 brought     
together by a certain supposed          
congeniality between the individuals    
thus assembled4 ,were they taken        
indiscriminately1 as boys are when      
consigned to the care of a schoolmaster1
 the proportion of the brilliant would  
not be a whit greater than in the latter
 case4  ,a main criterion of the        
superiority of the schoolboy will be    
found in his mode of answering a casual 
question proposed by the master4 ,the   

majority will be wholly at fault1 will  
shew that they do not understand the    
question1 and will return an answer     
altogether from the purpose4 ,one in a  
hundred perhaps1 perhaps in a still less
 proportion1 will reply in a laudable   
manner1 and convey his ideas in         
perspicuous and spirited language4  ,it 
does not certainly go altogether so ill1
 with men grown up to years of maturity4
 ,they do not for the most part answer a
 plain question in a manner to make you 
wonder at their fatuity4  ,a main cause 
of the disadvantageous appearance       
exhibited by the ordinary schoolboy1    
lies in what we denominate sheepishness4
 ,he is at a loss1 and in the first     
place stares at you1 instead of giving  
an answer4 ,he does not make by many    
degrees so poor a figure among his      
equals1 as when he is addressed by his  
seniors4  ,one of the reasons of the    
latter phenomenon consists in the       
torpedo effect of what we may call1     
under the circumstances1 the difference 

of ranks4 ,the schoolmaster is a despot 
to his scholar2 for every man is a      
despot1 who delivers his judgment from  
the single impulse of his own will4 ,the
 boy answers his questioner1 as ,dolon  
answers ,ulysses in the ,iliad1 at the  
point of the sword4 ,it is to a certain 
degree the same thing1 when the boy is  
questioned merely by his senior4 ,he    
fears he knows not what1--a reprimand1 a
 look of lofty contempt1 a gesture of   
summary disdain4 ,he does not think it  
worth his while under these             
circumstances1 to gird up the loins of  
his mind4 ,he cannot return a free and  
intrepid answer but to the person whom  
he regards as his equal4 ,there is      
nothing that has so disqualifying an    
effect upon him who is to answer1 as the
 consideration that he who questions is 
universally acknowledged to be a being  
of a higher sphere1 or1 as between the  
boy and the man1 that he is the superior
 in conventional and corporal strength4 
,nor is it simple terror that restrains 

the boy from answering his senior with  
the same freedom and spirit1 as he would
 answer his equal4 ,he does not think it
 worth his while to enter the lists4 ,he
 despairs of doing the thing in the way 
that shall gain approbation1 and        
therefore will not try4 ,he is like a   
boxer1 who1 though skilful1 will not    
fight with one hand tied behind him4 ,he
 would return you the answer1 if it     
occurred without his giving himself     
trouble2 but he will not rouse his soul1
 and task his strength to give it4 ,he  
is careless2 and prefers trusting to    
whatever construction you may put upon  
him1 and whatever treatment you may     
think proper to bestow upon him4 ,it is 
the most difficult thing in the world1  
for the schoolmaster to inspire into his
 pupil the desire to do his best4       
,among full-grown men the case is       
different4 ,the schoolboy1 whether under
 his domestic roof1 or in the gymnasium1
 is in a situation similar to that of   
the ,christian slaves in ,algiers1 as   

described by ,cervantes in his ,history 
of the ,captive4 ,they were shut up     
together in a species of bagnio1 from   
whence they were brought out from time  
to time to perform certain tasks in     
common3 they might also engage in       
pranks1 and get into scrapes1 as they   
pleased2 but the master would hang up   
one1 impale another1 and cut off the    
ears of a third1 for little occasion1 or
 even wholly without it4 ,such indeed is
 the condition of the child almost from 
the hour of birth4 ,the severities      
practised upon him are not so great as  
those resorted to by the proprietor of  
slaves in ,algiers2 but they are equally
 arbitrary and without appeal4 ,he is   
free to a certain extent1 even as the   
captives described by ,cervantes2 but   
his freedom is upon sufferance1 and is  
brought to an end at any time at the    
pleasure of his seniors4 ,the child     
therefore feels his way1 and ascertains 
by repeated experiments how far he may  
proceed with impunity4 ,he is like the  

slaves of the ,romans on the days of the
 ,saturnalia4 ,he may do what he        
pleases1 and command tasks to his       
masters1 but with this difference--the  
,roman slave knew when the days of his  
licence would be over1 and comported    
himself accordingly2 but the child      
cannot foresee at any moment when the   
bell will be struck1 and the scene      
reversed4 ,it is commonly enough        
incident to this situation1 that the    
being who is at the mercy of another1   
will practise1 what ,tacitus calls1 a   
vernacular urbanity1 make his bold      
jests1 and give utterance to his saucy  
innuendoes1 with as much freedom as the 
best2 but he will do it with a wary eye1
 not knowing how soon he may feel his   
chain plucked6 and himself compulsorily 
reduced into the established order4 ,his
 more usual refuge therefore is1 to do  
nothing1 and to wrap himself up in that 
neutrality towards his seniors1 that may
 best protect him from their reprimand  
and their despotism4  ,the condition of 

the full-grown man is different from    
that of the child1 and he conducts      
himself accordingly4 ,he is always to a 
certain degree under the control of the 
political society of which he is a      
member4 ,he is also exposed to the      
chance of personal insult and injury    
from those who are stronger than he1 or 
who may render their strength more      
considerable by combination and numbers4
 ,the political institutions which      
control him in certain respects1 protect
 him also to a given degree from the    
robber and assassin1 or from the man    
who1 were it not for penalties and      
statutes1 would perpetrate against him  
all the mischiefs which malignity might 
suggest4 ,civil policy however subjects 
him to a variety of evils1 which wealth 
or corruption are accustomed to inflict 
under the forms of justice2 at the same 
time that it can never wholly defend him
 from those violences to which he would 
be every moment exposed in what is      
called the state of nature4  ,the       

full-grown man in the mean time is well 
pleased when he escapes from the        
ergastulum where he had previously      
dwelt1 and in which he had experienced  
corporal infliction and corporal        
restraint4 ,at first1 in the newness of 
his freedom1 he breaks out into idle    
sallies and escapes1 and is like the    
full-fed steed that manifests his       
wantonness in a thousand antics and     
ruades4 ,but this is a temporary        
extravagance4 ,he presently becomes as  
wise and calculating1 as the schoolboy  
was before him4  ,the human being then1 
that has attained a certain stature1    
watches and poises his situation1 and   
considers what he may do with impunity4 
,he ventures at first with no small     
diffidence1 and pretends to be twice as 
assured as he really is4 ,he accumulates
 experiment after experiment1 till they 
amount to a considerable volume4 ,it is 
not till he has passed successive       
lustres1 that he attains that firm step1
 and temperate and settled accent1 which

 characterise the man complete4 ,he then
 no longer doubts1 but is ranged on the 
full level of the ripened members of the
 community4  ,there is therefore little 
room for wonder1 if we find the same    
individual1 whom we once knew a sheepish
 and irresolute schoolboy1 that hung his
 head1 that replied with inarticulated  
monotony1 and stammered out his meaning1
 metamorphosed into a thoroughly manly  
character1 who may take his place on the
 bench with senators1 and deliver a     
grave and matured opinion as well as the
 best4 ,it appears then that the trial  
and review of full-grown men is not     
altogether so disadvantageous to the    
reckoning of our common nature1 as that 
of boys at school4  ,it is not however1 
that the full-grown man is not liable to
 be checked1 reprimanded and rebuked1   
even as the schoolboy is4 ,he has his   
wife to read him lectures1 and rap his  
knuckles2 he has his master1 his        
landlord1 or the mayor of his village1  
to tell him of his duty in an imperious 

style1 and in measured sentences2 if he 
is a member of a legislature1 even there
 he receives his lessons1 and is told1  
either in phrases of well-conceived     
irony1 or by the exhibition of facts and
 reasonings which take him by surprise1 
that he is not altogether the person he 
deemed himself to be4 ,but he does not  
mind it4 ,like ,iago in the play1 he    
knows his price1 and1 by the faith of   
man1 that he is worth no worse a place  
than that which he occupies4 ,he finds  
out the value of the check he receives1 
and lets it pass by him like the idle   
wind--a mastery1 which the schoolboy1   
however he may affect it1 never         
thoroughly attains to4  ,but it         
unfortunately happens1 that1 before he  
has arrived at that degree of           
independence1 the fate of the individual
 is too often decided for ever4 ,how are
 the majority of men trampled in the    
mire1 made hewers of wood1 and drawers  
of water1 long1 very long1 before there 
was an opportunity of ascertaining what 

it was of which they were capable6 ,thus
 almost every one is put in the place   
which by nature he was least fit for3   
and1 while perhaps a sufficient quantity
 of talent is extant in each successive 
generation1 yet1 for want of each man's 
being duly estimated1 and assigned his  
appropriate duty1 the very reverse may  
appear to be the case4 ,by the time that
 they have attained to that sober       
self-confidence that might enable them  
to assert themselves1 they are already  
chained to a fate1 or thrust down to a  
condition1 from which no internal       
energies they possess can ever empower  
them to escape4   ,,section ,,ii4       
,,equality ,,of ,,man ,,with            
,,man4--,,talents ,,extensively         
,,distributed4--,,way ,,in ,,which      
,,this ,,distribution ,,is              
,,counteracted4--,,the ,,aptitude ,,of  
,,children ,,for ,,different ,,pursuits 
,,should ,,be ,,early ,,sought          
,,out4--,,hints ,,for ,a ,,better       
,,system ,,of ,,education4--,,ambition  

,,an ,,universal ,,principle4  ,the     
reflections thus put down1 may assist us
 in answering the question as to the way
 in which talents are distributed among 
men by the hand of nature4  ,all things 
upon the earth and under the earth1 and 
especially all organised bodies of the  
animal or vegetable kingdom1 fall into  
classes4 ,it is by this means1 that the 
child no sooner learns the terms1 man1  
horse1 tree1 flower1 than1 if an object 
of any of these kinds which he has never
 seen before1 is exhibited to him1 he   
pronounces without hesitation1 ,this is 
a man1 a horse1 a tree1 a flower4  ,all 
organised bodies of the animal or       
vegetable kingdom are cast in a mould of
 given dimension and feature belonging  
to a certain number of individuals1     
though distinguished by inexhaustible   
varieties4 ,it is by means of those     
features that the class of each         
individual is determined4  ,to confine  
ourselves to man4  ,all men1 the monster
 and the lusus naturae excepted1 have a 

certain form1 a certain complement of   
limbs1 a certain internal structure1 and
 organs of sense--may we not add        
further1 certain powers of intellect8   
,hence it seems to follow1 that man is  
more like and more equal to man1        
deformities of body and abortions of    
intellect excepted1 than the disdainful 
and fastidious censors of our common    
nature are willing to admit4  ,i am     
inclined to believe1 that1 putting      
idiots and extraordinary cases out of   
the question1 every human creature is   
endowed with talents1 which1 if rightly 
directed1 would shew him to be apt1     
adroit1 intelligent and acute1 in the   
walk for which his organisation         
especially fitted him4  ,but the        
practices and modes of civilised life   
prompt us to take the inexhaustible     
varieties of man1 as he is given into   
our guardianship by the bountiful hand  
of nature1 and train him in one uniform 
exercise1 as the raw recruit is treated 
when he is brought under the direction  

of his drill-serjeant4  ,the son of the 
nobleman1 of the country-gentleman1 and 
of those parents who from vanity or     
whatever other motive are desirous that 
their offspring should be devoted to    
some liberal profession1 is in nearly   
all instances sent to the               
grammar-school4 ,it is in this scene    
principally1 that the judgment is formed
 that not above one boy in a hundred    
possesses an acute understanding1 or    
will be able to strike into a path of   
intellect that shall be truly his own4  
,i do not object to this destination1 if
 temperately pursued4 ,it is fit that as
 many children as possible should have  
their chance of figuring in future life 
in what are called the higher           
departments of intellect4 ,a certain    
familiar acquaintance with language and 
the shades of language as a lesson1 will
 be beneficial to all4 ,the youth who   
has expended only six months in         
acquiring the rudiments of the ,latin   
tongue1 will probably be more or less   

the better for it in all his future     
life4  ,but seven years are usually     
spent at the grammar-school by those who
 are sent to it4 ,i do not in many cases
 object to this4 ,the learned languages 
are assuredly of slow acquisition4 ,in  
the education of those who are destined 
to what are called the higher           
departments of intellect1 a long period 
may advantageously be spent in the study
 of words1 while the progress they make 
in theory and dogmatical knowledge is   
too generally a store of learning laid  
up1 to be unlearned again when they     
reach the period of real investigation  
and independent judgment4 ,there is     
small danger of this in the acquisition 
of words4  ,but this method1            
indiscriminately pursued as it is now1  
is productive of the worst consequences4
 ,very soon a judgment may be formed by 
the impartial observer1 whether the     
pupil is at home in the study of the    
learned languages1 and is likely to make
 an adequate progress4 ,but parents are 

not impartial4 ,there are also two      
reasons why the schoolmaster is not the 
proper person to pronounce3 first1      
because1 if he pronounces in the        
negative1 he will have reason to fear   
that the parent will be offended2 and   
secondly1 because he does not like to   
lose his scholar4 ,but the very moment  
that it can be ascertained1 that the    
pupil is not at home in the study of the
 learned languages1 and is unlikely to  
make an adequate progress1 at that      
moment he should be taken from it4  ,the
 most palpable deficiency that is to be 
found in relation to the education of   
children1 is a sound judgment to be     
formed as to the vocation or employment 
in which each is most fitted to excel4  
,as1 according to the institutions of   
,lycurgus1 as soon as a boy was born1 he
 was visited by the elders of the ward1 
who were to decide whether he was to be 
reared1 and would be made an efficient  
member of the commonwealth1 so it were  
to be desired that1 as early as a clear 

discrimination on the subject might be  
practicable1 a competent decision should
 be given as to the future occupation   
and destiny of a child4  ,but this is a 
question attended with no common degree 
of difficulty4 ,to the resolving such a 
question with sufficient evidence1 a    
very considerable series of observations
 would become necessary4 ,the child     
should be introduced into a variety of  
scenes1 and a magazine1 so to speak1 of 
those things about which human industry 
and skill may be employed1 should be    
successively set before him4 ,the censor
 who is to decide on the result of the  
whole1 should be a person of great      
sagacity1 and capable of pronouncing    
upon a given amount of the most         
imperfect and incidental indications4   
,he should be clear-sighted1 and        
vigilant to observe the involuntary     
turns of an eye1 expressions of a lip1  
and demonstrations of a limb4  ,the     
declarations of the child himself are   
often of very small use in the case4 ,he

 may be directed by an impulse1 which   
occurs in the morning1 and vanishes in  
the evening4 ,his preferences change as 
rapidly as the shapes we sometimes      
observe in the evening clouds1 and are  
governed by whim or fantasy1 and not by 
any of those indications which are      
parcel of his individual constitution4  
,he desires in many instances to be     
devoted to a particular occupation1     
because his playfellow has been assigned
 to it before him4  ,the parent is not  
qualified to judge in this fundamental  
question1 because he is under the       
dominion of partiality1 and wishes that 
his child may become a lord chancellor1 
an archbishop1 or any thing else1 the   
possessor of which condition shall be   
enabled to make a splendid figure in the
 world4 ,he is not qualified1 because he
 is an interested party1 and1 either    
from an exaggerated estimate of his     
child's merits1 or from a selfish       
shrinking from the cost it might require
 to mature them1 is anxious to arrive at

 a conclusion not founded upon the      
intrinsic claims of the case to be      
considered4  ,even supposing it to be   
sufficiently ascertained in what calling
 it is that the child will be most      
beneficially engaged1 a thousand        
extrinsical circumstances will often    
prevent that from being the calling     
chosen4 ,nature distributes her gifts   
without any reference to the            
distinctions of artificial society4 ,the
 genius that demanded the most careful  
and assiduous cultivation1 that it might
 hereafter form the boast and ornament  
of the world1 will be reared amidst the 
chill blasts of poverty2 while he who   
was best adapted to make an exemplary   
carpenter or artisan1 by being the son  
of a nobleman is thrown a thousand      
fathoms wide of his true destination4   
,human creatures are born into the world
 with various dispositions4 ,according  
to the memorable saying of              
,themistocles1 ,one man can play upon a 
psaltery or harp1 and another can by    

political skill and ingenuity convert a 
town of small account1 weak and         
insignificant1 into a city noble1       
magnificent and great4  ,it is          
comparatively a very little way that we 
can penetrate into the mysteries of     
nature4  ,music seems to be one of the  
faculties most clearly defined in early 
youth4 ,the child who has received that 
destination from the hands of nature1   
will even in infancy manifest a singular
 delight in musical sounds1 and will in 
no long time imitate snatches of a tune4
 ,the present professor of music in the 
university of ,oxford contrived for     
himself1 ,i believe at three years old1 
a way for playing on an instrument1 the 
piano forte1 unprompted by any of the   
persons about him4 ,this is called      
having an ear4  ,instances nearly as    
precocious are related of persons1 who  
afterwards distinguished themselves in  
the art of painting4  ,these two kinds  
of original destination appear to be    
placed beyond the reach of controversy4 

,horace says1 ,the poet is born a poet1 
and cannot be made so by the ingenuity  
of art3 and this seems to be true4 ,he  
sees the objects about him with an eye  
peculiarly his own2 the sounds that     
reach his ear1 produce an effect upon   
him1 and leave a memory behind1         
different from that which is experienced
 by his fellows4 ,his perceptions have a
 singular vividness4        ,the poet's 
eye1 in a fine frenzy rolling1          
,doth glance from heaven to earth1 from 
earth to heaven2        ,and his        
imagination bodies forth       ,the     
forms of things unknown1  ,it is not    
probable that any trainings of art can  
give these endowments to him who has not
 received them from the gift of nature4 
,the subtle network of the brain1 or    
whatever else it is1 that makes a man   
more fit for1 and more qualified to     
succeed in1 one occupation than another1
 can scarcely be followed up and        
detected either in the living subject or
 the dead one4 ,but1 as in the infinite 

variety of human beings no two faces are
 so alike that they cannot be           
distinguished1 nor even two leaves      
plucked from the same tree7#b71 so it   
may reasonably be presumed1 that there  
are varieties in the senses1 the organs1
 and the internal structure of the human
 species1 however delicate1 and to the  
touch of the bystander evanescent1 which
 may give to each individual a          
predisposition to rise to a supreme     
degree of excellence in some certain art
 or attainment1 over a million of       
competitors4      7#b7 ,papers between  
,clarke and ,leibnitz1 p4 #ie4   ,it has
 been said that all these distinctions  
and anticipations are idle1 because man 
is born without innate ideas4 ,whatever 
is the incomprehensible and inexplicable
 power1 which we call nature1 to which  
he is indebted for his formation1 it is 
groundless to suppose1 that that power  
is cognisant of1 and guides itself in   
its operations by1 the infinite         
divisibleness of human pursuits in      

civilised society4 ,a child is not      
designed by his original formation to be
 a manufacturer of shoes1 for he may be 
born among a people by whom shoes are   
not worn1 and still less is he destined 
by his structure to be a metaphysician1 
an astronomer1 or a lawyer1 a           
rope-dancer1 a fortune-teller1 or a     
juggler4  ,it is true that we cannot    
suppose nature to be guided in her      
operations by the infinite divisibleness
 of human pursuits in civilised society4
 ,but it is not the less true that one  
man is by his structure best fitted to  
excel in some one in particular of these
 multifarious pursuits1 however         
fortuitously his individual structure   
and that pursuit may be brought into    
contact4 ,thus a certain calmness and   
steadiness of purpose1 much flexibility1
 and a very accurate proportion of the  
various limbs of the body1 are of great 
advantage in rope-dancing2 while        
lightness of the fingers1 and a         
readiness to direct our thoughts to the 

rapid execution of a purpose1 joined    
with a steadiness of countenance adapted
 to what is figuratively called throwing
 dust in the eyes of the bystander1 are 
of the utmost importance to the juggler3
 and so of the rest4  ,it is as much the
 temper of the individual1 as any       
particular subtlety of organ or         
capacity1 that prepares him to excel in 
one pursuit rather than a thousand      
others4 ,and he must have been a very   
inattentive observer of the indications 
of temper in an infant in the first     
months of his existence1 who does not   
confess that there are various          
peculiarities in that respect which the 
child brings into the world with him4   
,there is excellent sense in the fable  
of ,achilles in the island of ,scyros4  
,he was placed there by his mother in   
female attire among the daughters of    
,lycomedes1 that he might not be seduced
 to engage in the ,trojan war4 ,ulysses 
was commissioned to discover him1 and1  
while he exhibited jewels and various   

woman's ornaments to the princesses1    
contrived to mix with his stores a suit 
of armour1 the sight of which           
immediately awakened the spirit of the  
hero4  ,every one has probably within   
him a string more susceptible than the  
rest1 that demands only a kindred       
impression to be made1 to call forth its
 latent character4 ,like the war-horse  
described in the ,book of ,job3 ,he     
paweth in the valley1 and rejoiceth in  
his strength2 he goeth on to meet the   
armed men2 he smelleth the battle afar  
off1 the thunder of the captains1 and   
the shouting4  ,nothing can be more     
unlike than the same man to himself1    
when he is touched1 and not touched1    
upon             the master-string      
,that makes most harmony or discord to  
him4  ,it is like the case of ,manlius  
,torquatus in ,livy1 who by his father  
was banished among his hinds for his    
clownish demeanour and untractableness  
to every species of instruction that was
 offered him1 but who1 understanding    

that his parent was criminally arraigned
 for barbarous treatment of him1 first  
resolutely resorted to the accuser1     
compelling him upon pain of death to    
withdraw his accusation1 and            
subsequently1 having surmounted this    
first step towards an energetic carriage
 and demeanour1 proved one of the most  
illustrious characters that the ,roman  
republic had to boast4  ,those children 
whose parents have no intention of      
training them to the highest departments
 of intellect1 and have therefore no    
thought of bestowing on them a classical
 education1 nevertheless for the most   
part send them to a school where they   
are to be taught arithmetic1 and the    
principles of ,english grammar4 ,i      
should say in this case1 as ,i said     
before on the subject of classical      
education1 that a certain initiation in 
these departments of knowledge1 even if 
they are pursued a very little way1 will
 probably be beneficial to all4  ,but it
 will often be found1 in these schools  

for more ordinary education1 as in the  
school for classical instruction1 that  
the majority of the pupils will be seen 
to be unpromising1 and1 what is usually 
called1 dull4 ,the mistake is1 that the 
persons by whom this is perceived1 are  
disposed to set aside these pupils as   
blockheads1 and unsusceptible of any    
species of ingenuity4  ,it is           
unreasonable that we should draw such a 
conclusion4  ,in the first place1 as has
 been already observed1 it is the most  
difficult thing in the world for the    
schoolmaster to inspire into his pupil  
the desire to do his best4 ,an          
overwhelming majority of lads at school 
are in their secret hearts rebels to the
 discipline under which they are placed4
 ,the instructor draws1 one way1 and the
 pupil another4 ,the object of the      
latter is to find out how he may escape 
censure and punishment with the smallest
 expence of scholastic application4 ,he 
looks at the task that is set him1      
without the most distant desire of      

improvement1 but with alienated and     
averted eye4 ,and1 where this is the    
case1 the wonder is not that he does not
 make a brilliant figure4 ,it is rather 
an evidence of the slavish and          
subservient spirit incident to the      
majority of human beings1 that he learns
 any thing4 ,certainly the schoolmaster1
 who judges of the powers of his pupil's
 mind by the progress he makes in what  
he would most gladly be excused from    
learning1 must be expected perpetually  
to fall into the most egregious         
mistakes4  ,the true test of the        
capacity of the individual1 is where the
 desire to succeed1 and accomplish      
something effective1 is already awakened
 in the youthful mind4 ,whoever has     
found out what it is in which he is     
qualified to excel1 from that moment    
becomes a new creature4 ,the general    
torpor and sleep of the soul1 which is  
incident to the vast multitude of the   
human species1 is departed from him4 ,we
 begin1 from the hour in which our limbs

 are enabled to exert themselves freely1
 with a puerile love of sport4          
,amusement is the order of the day4 ,but
 no one was ever so fond of play1 that  
he had not also his serious moments4    
,every human creature perhaps is        
sensible to the stimulus of ambition4   
,he is delighted with the thought that  
he also shall be somebody1 and not a    
mere undistinguished pawn1 destined to  
fill up a square in the chess-board of  
human society4 ,he wishes to be thought 
something of1 and to be gazed upon4 ,nor
 is it merely the wish to be admired    
that excites him3 he acts1 that he may  
be satisfied with himself4 ,self-respect
 is a sentiment dear to every heart4    
,the emotion can with difficulty be done
 justice to1 that a man feels1 who is   
conscious that he is breathing his true 
element1 that every stroke that he      
strikes will have the effect he designs1
 that he has an object before him1 and  
every moment approaches nearer to that  
object4 ,before1 he was wrapped in an   

opake cloud1 saw nothing distinctly1 and
 struck this way and that at hazard like
 a blind man4 ,but now the sun of       
understanding has risen upon him2 and   
every step that he takes1 he advances   
with an assured and undoubting          
confidence4  ,it is an admirable remark1
 that the book which we read at the very
 time that we feel a desire to read it1 
affords us ten times the improvement1   
that we should have derived from it when
 it was taken up by us as a task4 ,it is
 just so with the man who chooses his   
occupation1 and feels assured that that 
about which he is occupied is his true  
and native field4 ,compare this person  
with the boy that studies the classics1 
or arithmetic1 or any thing else1 with a
 secret disinclination1 and1 as         
,shakespear expresses it1 creeps like   
snail1 unwillingly1 to school4 ,they do 
not seem as if they belonged to the same
 species4  ,the result of these         
observations certainly strongly tends to
 support the proposition laid down early

 in the present ,essay1 that1 putting   
idiots and extraordinary cases out of   
the question1 every human creature is   
endowed with talents1 which1 if rightly 
directed1 would shew him to be apt1     
adroit1 intelligent and acute1 in the   
walk for which his organisation         
especially fitted him4   ,,section      
,,iii4  ,,encouraging ,,view ,,of ,,our 
,,common ,,nature4--,,power ,,of ,,sound
 ,,exposition ,,afforded ,,to           
,,all4--,,doctrine ,,of ,,this ,,essay  
,,and ,,the ,,hypothesis ,,of           
,,helvetius ,,compared4--,,the ,,willing
 ,,and ,,unwilling ,,pupil              
,,contrasted4--,,mischievous ,,tendency 
,,of ,,the ,,usual ,,modes ,,of         
,,education4  ,what a beautiful and     
encouraging view is thus afforded us of 
our common nature6 ,it is not true1 as  
certain disdainful and fastidious       
censurers of their fellow-men would     
persuade us to believe1 that a thousand 
seeds are sown in the wide field of     
humanity1 for no other purpose than that

 half-a-dozen may grow up into something
 magnificent and splendid1 and that the 
rest1 though not absolutely extinguished
 in the outset1 are merely suffered to  
live that they may furnish manure and   
nourishment to their betters4 ,on the   
contrary1 each man1 according to this   
hypothesis1 has a sphere in which he may
 shine1 and may contemplate the exercise
 of his own powers with a well-grounded 
satisfaction4 ,he produces something as 
perfect in its kind1 as that which is   
effected under another form by the more 
brilliant and illustrious of his        
species4 ,he stands forward with a      
serene confidence in the ranks of his   
fellow-creatures1 and says1 ,i also have
 my place in society1 that ,i fill in a 
manner with which ,i have a right to be 
satisfied4 ,he vests a certain portion  
of ingenuity in the work he turns out4  
,he incorporates his mind with the      
labour of his hands2 and a competent    
observer will find character and        
individuality in it4  ,he has therefore 

nothing of the sheepishness of the      
ordinary schoolboy1 the tasks imposed   
upon whom by his instructor are foreign 
to the true bent of his mind1 and who   
stands cowed before his seniors1        
shrinking under the judgment they may   
pass upon him1 and the oppression they  
may exercise towards him4 ,he is        
probably competent to talk in a manner  
that may afford instruction to men in   
other respects wise and accomplished1   
and is no less clear and well-digested  
in his discourse respecting the subjects
 to which his study and labour have been
 applied1 than they are on the questions
 that have exercised the powers of      
analysis with which they are endowed4   
,like ,elihu in the ,book of ,job1 he   
says1 ,i am young1 and you are old2 ,i  
said therefore1 ,days shall speak1 and  
multitude of years shall teach wisdom4  
,but there is a spirit in man2 and the  
inspiration of the ,almighty giveth him 
understanding4 ,great men are not always
 wise2 neither do the aged understand   

judgment4 ,hearken therefore to me2 and 
,i also will shew my opinion4  ,what    
however in the last instance is         
affirmed1 is not always realised in the 
experiment4 ,the humblest mechanic1 who 
works con amore1 and feels that he      
discharges his office creditably1 has a 
sober satisfaction in the retrospect1   
and is able to express himself          
perspicuously and well on the subject   
that has occupied his industry4 ,he has 
a just confidence in himself4 ,if the   
occasion arises1 on which he should     
speak on the subject of what he does1   
and the methods he adopts for effecting 
it1 he will undoubtedly acquit himself  
to the satisfaction of those who hear   
him4 ,he knows that the explanations he 
can afford will be sound and masculine1 
and will stand the test of a rigid      
examination4  ,but1 in proportion as he 
feels the ground on which he stands1 and
 his own power to make it good1 he will 
not fail to retire from an audience that
 is not willing to be informed by him4  

,he will often appear in the presence of
 those1 whom the established            
arrangements of society call his        
superiors1 who are more copiously       
endowed with the treasures of language1 
and who1 confident perhaps in the       
advantage of opulence1 and what is      
called1 however they may have received  
it1 a liberal education1 regard with    
disdain his artless and unornamented    
explanations4 ,he did not1 it may be1   
expect this4 ,and1 having experienced   
several times such unmerited treatment1 
he is not willing again to encounter it4
 ,he knew the worth of what he had to   
offer4 ,and1 finding others indisposed  
to listen to his suggestions1 he        
contentedly confines them within the    
circle of his own thoughts4  ,to this it
 must be added that1 though he is able  
to explain himself perspicuously1 yet he
 is not master of the graces of speech1 
nor even perhaps of the niceties of     
grammar4 ,his voice is not tuned to     
those winning inflections by which men1 

accustomed to the higher ranks of       
society1 are enabled so to express      
themselves1        ,that aged ears play 
truant at their tales1       ,and       
younger hearings are quite ravished1    
,so sweet and voluble is their          
discourse4  ,on the contrary there is a 
ruggedness in his manner that jars upon 
the sense4 ,it is easy for the light and
 supercilious to turn him into ridicule4
 ,and those who will not be satisfied   
with the soundness of his matter1       
expounded1 as he is able to expound it1 
in clear and appropriate terms1 will    
yield him small credit1 and listen to   
him with little delight4  ,these        
considerations therefore bring us back  
again to the reasons of the prevalent   
opinion1 that the majority of mankind   
are dull1 and of apprehension narrow and
 confused4 ,the mass of boys in the     
process of their education appear so1   
because little of what is addressed to  
them by their instructors1 awakens their
 curiosity1 and inspires them with the  

desire to excel4 ,the concealed spark of
 ambition is not yet cleared from the   
crust that enveloped it as it first came
 from the hand of nature4 ,and in like  
manner the elder persons1 who have not  
experienced the advantages of a liberal 
education1 or by whom small profit was  
made by those advantages1 being         
defective in exterior graces1 are       
generally listened to with impatience1  
and therefore want the confidence and   
the inclination to tell what they know4 
,but these latter1 if they are not      
attended to upon the subjects to which  
their attention and ingenuity have been 
applied1 do not the less possess a      
knowledge and skill which are           
intrinsically worthy of applause4 ,they 
therefore contentedly shut up the sum of
 their acquisitions in their own bosoms1
 and are satisfied with the             
consciousness that they have not been   
deficient in performing an adequate part
 in the generation of men among whom    
they live4  ,those persons who favour   

the opinion of the incessant            
improveableness of the human species1   
have felt strongly prompted to embrace  
the creed of ,helvetius1 who affirms    
that the minds of men1 as they are born 
into the world1 are in a state of       
equality1 alike prepared for any kind of
 discipline and instruction that may be 
afforded them1 and that it depends upon 
education only1 in the largest sense of 
that word1 including every impression   
that may be made upon the mind1         
intentional or accidental1 from the hour
 of our birth1 whether we shall be poets
 or philosophers1 dancers or singers1   
chemists or mathematicians1 astronomers 
or dissectors of the faculties of our   
common nature4  ,but this is not true4  
,it has already appeared in the course  
of this ,essay1 that the talent1 or1    
more accurately speaking1 the original  
suitableness of the individual for the  
cultivation1 of music or painting1      
depends upon certain peculiarities that 
we bring into the world with us4 ,the   

same thing may be affirmed of the poet4 
,as1 in the infinite variety of human   
beings1 there are no two faces so alike 
that they cannot be distinguished1 nor  
even two leaves plucked from the same   
tree1 so there are varieties in the     
senses1 the organs1 and the internal    
structure of the human species1 however 
delicate1 and to the touch of the       
bystander evanescent1 which give to each
 individual a predisposition to rise to 
excellence in one particular art or     
attainment1 rather than in any other4   
,and this view of things1 if well       
considered1 is as favourable1 nay1 more 
so1 to the hypothesis of the successive 
improveableness of the human species1 as
 the creed of ,helvetius4 ,according to 
that philosopher1 every human creature  
that is born into the world1 is capable 
of becoming1 or being made1 the equal of
 ,homer1 ,bacon or ,newton1 and as      
easily and surely of the one as the     
other4 ,this creed1 if sincerely        
embraced1 no doubt affords a strong     

stimulus to both preceptor and pupil1   
since1 if true1 it teaches us that any  
thing can be made of any thing1 and     
that1 wherever there is mind1 it is     
within the compass of possibility1 not  
only that that mind can be raised to a  
high pitch of excellence1 but even to a 
high pitch of that excellence1 whatever 
it is1 that we shall prefer to all      
others1 and most earnestly desire4      
,still this creed will1 after all1 leave
 both preceptor and pupil in a state of 
feeling considerably unsatisfactory4    
,what it sets before us1 is too vast and
 indefinite4 ,we shall be left long     
perhaps in a state of balance as to what
 species of excellence we shall choose2 
and1 in the immense field of accessible 
improvement it offers to us1 without    
land-mark or compass for the direction  
of our course1 it is scarcely possible  
that we should feel that assured        
confidence and anticipation of success1 
which are perhaps indispensibly required
 to the completion of a truly arduous   

undertaking4  ,but1 upon the principles 
laid down in this ,essay1 the case is   
widely different4 ,we are here presented
 in every individual human creature with
 a subject better fitted for one sort of
 cultivation than another4 ,we are      
excited to an earnest study of the      
individual1 that we may the more        
unerringly discover what pursuit it is  
for which his nature and qualifications 
especially prepare him4 ,we may be long 
in choosing4 ,we may be even on the     
brink of committing a considerable      
mistake4 ,our subsequent observations   
may enable us to correct the inference  
we were disposed to make from those     
which went before4 ,our sagacity is     
flattered by the result of the laborious
 scrutiny which this view of our common 
nature imposes upon us4  ,in addition to
 this we reap two important advantages4 
,in the first place1 we feel assured    
that every child that is born has his   
suitable sphere1 to which if he is      
devoted1 he will not fail to make an    

honourable figure1 or1 in other words1  
will be seen to be endowed with         
faculties1 apt1 adroit1 intelligent and 
acute4 ,this consideration may          
reasonably stimulate us to call up all  
our penetration for the purpose of      
ascertaining the proper destination of  
the child for whom we are interested4   
,and1 secondly1 having arrived at this  
point1 we shall find ourselves placed in
 a very different predicament from the  
guardian or instructor1 who1 having     
selected at random the pursuit which his
 fancy dictates1 and in the choice of   
which he is encouraged by the           
presumptuous assertions of a wild       
metaphysical philosophy1 must often1 in 
spite of himself1 feel a secret         
misgiving as to the final event4 ,he may
 succeed1 and present to a wondering    
world a consummate musician1 painter1   
poet1 or philosopher2 for even blind    
chance may sometimes hit the mark1 as   
truly as the most perfect skill4 ,but he
 will probably fail4 ,sudet multum1     

frustraque laboret4 ,and1 if he is      
disappointed1 he will not only feel that
 disappointment in the ultimate result1 
but also in every step of his progress4 
,when he has done his best1 exerted his 
utmost industry1 and consecrated every  
power of his soul to the energies he    
puts forth1 he may close every day1     
sometimes with a faint shadow of        
success1 and sometimes with entire and  
blank miscarriage4 ,and the latter will 
happen ten thousand times1 for once that
 the undertaking shall be blessed with a
 prosperous event4  ,but1 when the      
destination that is given to a child has
 been founded upon a careful            
investigation of the faculties1 tokens1 
and accidental aspirations which        
characterise his early years1 it is then
 that every step that is made with him1 
becomes a new and surer source of       
satisfaction4 ,the moment the pursuit   
for which his powers are adapted is     
seriously proposed to him1 his eyes     
sparkle1 and a second existence1 in     

addition to that which he received at   
his birth1 descends upon him4 ,he feels 
that he has now obtained something worth
 living for4 ,he feels that he is at    
home1 and in a sphere that is           
appropriately his own4 ,every effort    
that he makes is successful4 ,at every  
resting-place in his race of improvement
 he pauses1 and looks back on what he   
has done with complacency4 ,the master  
cannot teach him so fast1 as he is      
prompted to acquire4  ,what a contrast  
does this species of instruction        
exhibit1 to the ordinary course of      
scholastic education6 ,there1 every     
lesson that is prescribed1 is a source  
of indirect warfare between the         
instructor and the pupil1 the one       
professing to aim at the advancement of 
him that is taught1 in the career of    
knowledge1 and the other contemplating  
the effect that is intended to be       
produced upon him with aversion1 and    
longing to be engaged in any thing else1
 rather than in that which is pressed   

upon his foremost attention4 ,in this   
sense a numerous school is1 to a degree 
that can scarcely be adequately         
described1 the slaughter-house of mind4 
,it is like the undertaking1 related by 
,livy1 of ,accius ,navius1 the augur1 to
 cut a whetstone with a razor--with this
 difference1 that our modern            
schoolmasters are not endowed with the  
gift of working miracles1 and1 when the 
experiment falls into their hands1 the  
result of their efforts is a pitiful    
miscarriage4 ,knowledge is scarcely in  
any degree imparted4 ,but1 as they are  
inured to a dogged assiduity1 and       
persist in their unavailing attempts1   
though the shell of science1 so to      
speak1 is scarcely in the smallest      
measure penetrated1 yet that inestimable
 gift of the author of our being1 the   
sharpness of human faculties1 is so     
blunted and destroyed1 that it can      
scarcely ever be usefully employed even 
for those purposes which it was         
originally best qualified to effect4  ,a

 numerous school is that mint from which
 the worst and most flagrant libels on  
our nature are incessantly issued4      
,hence it is that we are taught1 by a   
judgment everlastingly repeated1 that   
the majority of our kind are            
predestinated blockheads4  ,not that it 
is by any means to be recommended1 that 
a little writing and arithmetic1 and    
even the first rudiments of classical   
knowledge1 so far as they can be        
practicably imparted1 should be withheld
 from any4 ,the mischief is1 that we    
persist1 month after month1 and year    
after year1 in sowing our seed1 when it 
has already been fully ascertained1 that
 no suitable and wholsome crop will ever
 be produced4  ,but what is perhaps     
worse is1 that we are accustomed to     
pronounce1 that that soil1 which will   
not produce the crop of which we have   
attempted to make it fertile1 is fit for
 nothing4 ,the majority of boys1 at the 
very period when the buds of intellect  
begin to unfold themselves1 are so      

accustomed to be told that they are dull
 and fit for nothing1 that the most     
pernicious effects are necessarily      
produced4 ,they become half convinced by
 the ill-boding song of the raven1      
perpetually croaking in their ears2 and1
 for the other half1 though by no means 
assured that the sentence of impotence  
awarded against them is just1 yet1      
folding up their powers in inactivity1  
they are contented partly to waste their
 energies in pure idleness and sport1   
and partly to wait1 with minds scarcely 
half awake1 for the moment when their   
true destination shall be opened before 
them4  ,not that it is by any means to  
be desired that the child in his earlier
 years should meet with no ruggednesses 
in his way1 and that he should          
perpetually tread the primrose path of  
dalliance4 ,clouds and tempests         
occasionally clear the atmosphere of    
intellect1 not less than that of the    
visible world4 ,the road to the hill of 
science1 and to the promontory of heroic

 virtue1 is harsh and steep1 and from   
time to time puts to the proof the      
energies of him who would ascend their  
topmost round4  ,there are many things  
which every human creature should learn1
 so far as1 agreeably to the            
constitution of civilised society1 they 
can be brought within his reach4 ,he    
should be induced to learn them1        
willingly if possible1 but1 if that     
cannot be thoroughly effected1 yet with 
half a will4 ,such are reading1 writing1
 arithmetic1 and the first principles of
 grammar2 to which shall be added1 as   
far as may be1 the rudiments of all the 
sciences that are in ordinary use4 ,the 
latter however should not be brought    
forward too soon2 and1 if wisely        
delayed1 the tyro himself will to a     
certain degree enter into the views of  
his instructor1 and be disposed to essay
 ,quid valeant humeri1 quid ferre       
recusent4 ,but1 above all1 the          
beginnings of those studies should be   
encouraged1 which unfold the            

imagination1 familiarise us with the    
feelings1 the joys and sufferings of our
 fellow-beings1 and teach us to put     
ourselves in their place and eagerly fly
 to their assistance4   ,,section ,,iv4 
,,how ,,far ,,our ,,genuine             
,,propensities ,,and ,,vocation ,,should
 ,,be ,,favoured4--,,self-,,reverence   
,,recommended4--,,conclusion4  ,i knew a
 man of eminent intellectual            
faculties7#c71 one of whose favourite   
topics of moral prudence was1 that it is
 the greatest mistake in the world to   
suppose1 that1 when we have discovered  
the special aspiration of the youthful  
mind1 we are bound to do every thing in 
our power to assist its progress4 ,he   
maintained on the contrary1 that it is  
our true wisdom to place obstacles in   
its way1 and to thwart it3 as we may be 
well assured that1 unless it is a mere  
caprice1 it will shew its strength in   
conquering difficulties1 and that all   
the obstacles that we can conjure up    
will but inspire it with the greater    

earnestness to attain final success4    
7#c7 ,henry ,fuseli4   ,the maxim here  
stated1 taken to an unlimited extent1 is
 doubtless a very dangerous one4 ,there 
are obstacles that scarcely any strength
 of man would be sufficient to conquer4 
,chill penury will sometimes repress the
 noblest rage1 that almost ever animated
 a human spirit3 and our wisest course  
will probably be1 secretly to favour1   
even when we seem most to oppose1 the   
genuine bent of the youthful aspirer4   
,but the thing of greatest importance   
is1 that we should not teach him to     
estimate his powers at too low a rate4  
,one of the wisest of all the precepts  
comprised in what are called the ,golden
 ,verses of ,pythagoras1 is that1 in    
which he enjoins his pupil to reverence 
himself4 ,ambition is the noblest root  
that can be planted in the garden of the
 human soul3 not the ambition to be     
applauded and admired1 to be famous and 
looked up to1 to be the darling theme of
 stupid starers and of loud huzzas2 but 

the ambition to fill a respectable place
 in the theatre of society1 to be useful
 and to be esteemed1 to feel that we    
have not lived in vain1 and that we are 
entitled to the most honourable of all  
dismissions1 an enlightened             
self-approbation4 ,and nothing can more 
powerfully tend to place this beyond our
 acquisition1 even our contemplation1   
than the perpetual and hourly rebuffs   
which ingenuous youth is so often doomed
 to sustain from the supercilious       
pedant1 and the rigid decision of his   
unfeeling elders4  ,self-respect to be  
nourished in the mind of the pupil1 is  
one of the most valuable results of a   
well conducted education4 ,to accomplish
 this1 it is most necessary that it     
should never be inculcated into him1    
that he is dull4 ,upon the principles of
 this ,essay1 any unfavourable          
appearances that may present themselves1
 do not arise from the dulness of the   
pupil1 but from the error of those upon 
whose superintendence he is cast1 who   

require of him the things for which he  
is not adapted1 and neglect those in    
which he is qualified to excel4  ,it is 
further necessary1 if self-respect is   
one of the most desirable results of a  
well-conducted education1 that1 as we   
should not humble the pupil in his own  
eyes by disgraceful and humiliating     
language1 so we should abstain1 as much 
as possible1 from personal              
ill-treatment1 and the employing towards
 him the measures of an owner towards   
his purchased or indentured slave4      
,indignity is of all things the most    
hostile to the best purposes of a       
liberal education4 ,it may be necessary 
occasionally to employ1 towards a human 
creature in his years of nonage1 the    
stimulants of exhortation and           
remonstrance even in the pursuits to    
which he is best adapted1 for the       
purpose of overcoming the instability   
and fits of idleness to which all men1  
and most of all in their early years1   
are subject3 though in such pursuits a  

necessity of this sort can scarcely be  
supposed4 ,the bow must not always be   
bent2 and it is good for us that we     
should occasionally relax and play the  
fool4 ,it may more readily be imagined1 
that some incitement may be called for  
in those things which1 as has been      
mentioned above1 it may be fit he should
 learn though with but half a will4 ,all
 freaks must not be indulged2 admonition
 is salutary1 and that the pupil should 
be awakened by his instructor to sober  
reflection and to masculine exertion4   
,every ,telemachus should have his      
,mentor4--,but through the whole it is  
necessary that the spirit of the pupil  
should not be broken1 and that he should
 not be treated with contumely4 ,stripes
 should in all instances be regarded as 
the last resort1 and as a sort of       
problem set up for the wisdom of the    
wise to solve1 whether the urgent case  
can arise in which it shall be requisite
 to have recourse to them4  ,the        
principles here laid down have the      

strongest tendency to prove to us how   
little progress has yet been made in the
 art of turning human creatures to the  
best account4 ,every man has his place1 
in which if he can be fixed1 the most   
fastidious judge cannot look upon him   
with disdain4 ,but1 to effect this      
arrangement1 an exact attention is      
required to ascertain the pursuit in    
which he will best succeed4 ,in ,india  
the whole mass of the members of the    
community is divided into castes2 and1  
instead of a scrupulous attention being 
paid to the early intimations of        
individual character1 it is already     
decided upon each1 before he comes into 
the world1 which child shall be a       
priest1 and which a soldier1 a          
physician1 a lawyer1 a merchant1 and an 
artisan4 ,in ,europe we do not carry    
this so far1 and are not so elaborately 
wrong4 ,but the rudiments of the same   
folly flourish among us2 and the        
accident of birth for the most part     
decides the method of life to which each

 individual with whatever violence shall
 be dedicated4 ,a very few only1 by     
means of energies that no tyranny can   
subdue1 escape from the operation of    
this murderous decree4  ,nature never   
made a dunce4 ,imbecility of mind is as 
rare1 as deformity of the animal frame4 
,if this position be true1 we have only 
to bear it in mind1 feelingly to        
convince ourselves1 how wholesale the   
error is into which society has hitherto
 fallen in the destination of its       
members1 and how much yet remains to be 
done1 before our common nature can be   
vindicated from the basest of all       
libels1 the most murderous of all       
proscriptions4  ,there is a passage in  
,voltaire1 in which he expresses himself
 to this effect3 ,it is after all but a 
slight line of separation that divides  
the man of genius from the man of       
ordinary mould4 ,i remember the place   
where1 and the time when1 ,i read this  
passage4 ,but ,i have been unable to    
find the expression4 ,it is however but 

reasonable that ,i should refer to it on
 this occasion1 that ,i may hereby shew 
so eminent a modern concurring with the 
venerable ancient in an early era of    
letters1 whose dictum ,i have prefixed  
to this ,essay1 to vouch to a certain   
extent for the truth of the doctrine ,i 
have delivered4     ,,essay ,,iii4 ,,of 
,,intellectual ,,abortion4  ,in the     
preceding ,essay ,i have endeavoured to 
establish the proposition1 that every   
human creature1 idiots and extraordinary
 cases excepted1 is endowed with        
talents1 which1 if rightly directed1    
would shew him to be apt1 adroit1       
intelligent and acute1 in the walk for  
which his organisation especially fitted
 him4  ,there is however a sort of      
phenomenon1 by no means of rare         
occurrence1 which tends to place the    
human species under a less favourable   
point of view4 ,many men1 as has already
 appeared1 are forced into situations   
and pursuits ill assorted to their      
talents1 and by that means are exhibited

 to their contemporaries in a light both
 despicable and ludicrous4  ,but this is
 not all4 ,men are not only placed1 by  
the absurd choice of their parents1 or  
an imperious concurrence of             
circumstances1 in destinations and      
employments in which they can never     
appear to advantage3 they frequently1   
without any external compulsion1 select 
for themselves objects of their         
industry1 glaringly unadapted to their  
powers1 and in which all their efforts  
must necessarily terminate in           
miscarriage4  ,i remember a young man1  
who had been bred a hair-dresser1 but   
who experienced1 as he believed1 the    
secret visitations of the ,muse1 and    
became inspired4 ,with sad civility1 and
 aching head1 ,i perused no fewer than  
six comedies from the pen of this       
aspiring genius1 in no page of which ,i 
could discern any glimmering of poetry  
or wit1 or in reality could form a guess
 what it was that the writer intended in
 his elaborate effusions4 ,such are the 

persons enumerated by ,pope in the      
,prologue to his ,satires1            a 
parson1 much bemused in beer1       ,a  
maudlin poetess1 a rhyming peer1        
,a clerk1 foredoomed his father's sou to
 cross1       ,who pens a stanza1 when  
he should engross4  ,every manager of a 
theatre1 and every publishing bookseller
 of eminence1 can produce you in each   
revolving season whole reams1 almost    
cartloads1 of blurred paper1 testifying 
the frequent recurrence of this         
phenomenon4  ,the cause however of this 
painful mistake does not lie in the     
circumstance1 that each man has not from
 the hand of nature an appropriate      
destination1 a sphere assigned him1 in  
which1 if life should be prolonged to   
him1 he might be secure of the respect  
of his neighbours1 and might write upon 
his tomb1 ,i have filled an honourable  
career2 ,i have finished my course4     
,one of the most glaring infirmities of 
our nature is discontent4 ,one of the   
most unquestionable characteristics of  

the human mind is the love of novelty4  
,omne ignotum pro magnifico est4 ,we are
 satiated with those objects which make 
a part of our business in every day1 and
 are desirous of trying something that  
is a stranger to us4 ,whatever we see   
through a mist1 or in the twilight1 is  
apt to be apprehended by us as something
 admirable1 for the single reason that  
it is seen imperfectly4 ,what we are    
sure that we can easily and adequately  
effect1 we despise4 ,he that goes into  
battle with an adversary of more        
powerful muscle or of greater practice  
than himself1 feels a tingling          
sensation1 not unallied to delight1 very
 different from that which would occur  
to him1 when his victory was easy and   
secure4  ,each man is conscious what it 
is that he can certainly effect4 ,this  
does not therefore present itself to him
 as an object of ambition4 ,we have many
 of us internally something of the      
spirit expressed by the apostle3        
,forgetting the things that are behind1 

we press forward to those that remain4  
,and1 so long as this precept is soberly
 applied1 no conduct can be more worthy 
of praise4 ,improvement is the          
appropriate race of man4 ,we cannot     
stand still4 ,if we do not go forward1  
we shall inevitably recede4 ,shakespear1
 when he wrote his ,hamlet1 did not know
 that he could produce ,macbeth and     
,othello4  ,but the progress of a man of
 reflection will be1 to a considerable  
degree1 in the path he has already      
entered4 ,if he strikes into a new      
career1 it will not be without deep     
premeditation4 ,he will attempt nothing 
wantonly4 ,he will carefully examine his
 powers1 and see for what they are      
adapted4 ,sudet multum4 ,he will be like
 the man1 who first in a frail bark     
committed himself to the treachery of   
the waves4 ,he will keep near to the    
shore2 he will tremble for the          
audaciousness of his enterprise2 he will
 feel that it calls for all his         
alertness and vigilance4 ,the man of    

reflection will not begin1 till he feels
 his mind swelling with his purposed    
theme1 till his blood flows fitfully and
 with full pulses through his veins1    
till his eyes sparkle with the          
intenseness of his conceptions1 and his 
bosom labours with the ,god4  ,but the  
fool dashes in at once4 ,he does not    
calculate the dangers of his enterprise4
 ,he does not study the map of the      
country he has to traverse4 ,he does not
 measure the bias of the ground1 the    
rising knolls and the descending slopes 
that are before him4 ,he obeys a blind  
and unreflecting impulse4  ,his case    
bears a striking resemblance to what is 
related of ,oliver ,goldsmith4          
,goldsmith was a man of the most        
felicitous endowments4 ,his prose flows 
with such ease1 copiousness and grace1  
that it resembles the song of the       
sirens4 ,his verses are among the most  
spirited1 natural and unaffected in the 
,english language4 ,yet he was not      
contented4 ,if he saw a consummate      

dancer1 he knew no reason why he should 
not do as well1 and immediately felt    
disposed to essay his powers4 ,if he    
heard an accomplished musician1 he      
undertook to enter the lists with him4  
,his conduct was of a piece with that of
 the countryman1 who1 cheapening        
spectacles1 and making experiment of    
them for ever in vain upon the book     
before him1 was at length asked1 ,could 
you ever read without spectacles8 to    
which he was obliged to answer1 ,i do   
not know2 ,i never tried4 ,the vanity of
 ,goldsmith was infinite2 and his       
failure in such attempts must           
necessarily have been ludicrous4  ,the  
splendour of the thing presented to our 
observation1 awakens the spirit within  
us4 ,the applause and admiration excited
 by certain achievements and            
accomplishments infects us with desire4 
,we are like the youthful ,themistocles1
 who complained that the trophies of    
,miltiades would not let him sleep4 ,we 
are like the novice ,guido1 who1 while  

looking on the paintings of ,michael    
,angelo1 exclaimed1 ,i also am a        
painter4 ,themistocles and ,guido were  
right1 for they were of kindred spirit  
to the great men they admired4 ,but the 
applause bestowed on others will often  
generate uneasiness and a sigh1 in men  
least of all qualified by nature to     
acquire similar applause4 ,we are not   
contented to proceed in the path of     
obscure usefulness and worth4 ,we are   
eager to be admired1 and thus often     
engage in pursuits for which perhaps we 
are of all men least adapted ,each one  
would be the man above him4  ,and this  
is the cause why we see so many         
individuals1 who might have passed their
 lives with honour1 devote themselves to
 incredible efforts1 only that they may 
be made supremely ridiculous4  ,to this 
let it be added1 that the wisest man    
that ever existed1 never yet knew       
himself1 especially in the morning of   
life4 ,the person1 who ultimately       
stamped his history with the most heroic

 achievements1 was far perhaps even from
 suspecting1 in the dawn of his         
existence1 that he should realise the   
miracles that mark its maturity4 ,he    
might be ready to exclaim1 with ,hazael 
in the ,scriptures1 ,is thy servant more
 than man1 that he should do this great 
thing8 ,the sublimest poet that ever    
sung1 was peradventure1 while a         
stripling1 unconscious of the treasures 
which formed a part of the fabric of his
 mind1 and unsuspicious of the high     
destiny that in the sequel awaited him4 
,what wonder then1 that1 awaking from   
the insensibility and torpor which      
precede the activity of the soul1 some  
men should believe in a fortune that    
shall never be theirs1 and anticipate a 
glory they are fated never to sustain6  
,and for the same reason1 when          
unanticipated failure becomes their lot1
 they are unwilling at first to be      
discouraged1 and find a certain         
gallantry in persevering1 and against   
hope believing in hope4  ,this is the   

explanation of a countless multitude of 
failures that occur in the career of    
literature4 ,nor is this phenomenon     
confined to literature4 ,in all the     
various paths of human existence1 that  
appear to have something in them        
splendid and alluring1 there are        
perpetual instances of daring           
adventures1 unattended with the smallest
 rational hope of success4 ,optat       
ephippia bos piger4            ,all quit
 their sphere1 and rush into the skies4 
,but1 beside these instances of perfect 
and glaring miscarriage1 there are      
examples worthy of a deeper regret1     
where the juvenile candidate sets out in
 the morning of life with the highest   
promise1 with colours flying1 and the   
spirit-stirring note of gallant         
preparation1 when yet his voyage of life
 is destined to terminate in total      
discomfiture4 ,i have seen such an one1 
whose early instructors regarded him    
with the most sanguine expectation1 and 
his elders admired him1 while his       

youthful competitors unreluctantly      
confessed his superiority1 and gave way 
on either side to his triumphant career2
 and all this has terminated in nothing4
  ,in reality the splendid march of     
genius is beset with a thousand         
difficulties4 ,the race is not always to
 the swift1 nor the battle to the       
strong4 ,a multitude of unthought-of    
qualifications are required2 and it     
depends at least as much upon the nicely
 maintained balance of these1 as upon   
the copiousness and brilliancy of each1 
whether the result shall be auspicious4 
,the progress of genius is like the     
flight of an arrow2 a breath may turn it
 out of its course1 and cause that      
course to terminate many a degree wide  
of its purposed mark4 ,it is therefore  
scarcely possible that any sharpness of 
foresight can pronounce of the noblest  
beginnings whether they shall reach to  
an adequate conclusion4  ,i have seen   
such a man1 with the most fervent       
imagination1 with the most diligent     

study1 with the happiest powers of      
memory1 and with an understanding that  
apparently took in every thing1 and     
arranged every thing1 at the same time  
that by its acuteness it seemed able to 
add to the accumulated stores of        
foregone wisdom and learning new        
treasures of its own2 and yet this man  
shall pass through the successive stages
 of human life1 in appearance for ever  
active1 for ever at work1 and leave     
nothing behind that shall embalm his    
name to posterity1 certainly nothing in 
any degree adequately representing those
 excellencies1 which a chosen few1      
admitted to his retired and his serenest
 hours1 knew to reside in him4  ,there  
are conceptions of the mind1 that come  
forth like the coruscations of          
lightning4 ,if you could fix that flash1
 it would seem as if it would give new  
brightness to the sons of men1 and      
almost extinguish the luminary of day4  
,but1 ere you can say it is here1 it is 
gone4 ,it appears to reveal to us the   

secrets of the world unknown2 but the   
clouds congregate again1 and shut in    
upon us1 before we had time to apprehend
 its full radiance and splendour4  ,to  
give solidity and permanence to the     
inspirations of genius two things are   
especially necessary4 ,first1 that the  
idea to be communicated should be       
powerfully apprehended by the speaker or
 writer2 and next1 that he should employ
 words and phrases which might convey it
 in all its truth to the mind of        
another4 ,the man who entertains such   
conceptions1 will not unfrequently want 
the steadiness of nerve which is        
required for their adequate             
transmission4 ,suitable words will not  
always wait upon his thoughts4 ,language
 is in reality a vast labyrinth1 a scene
 like the ,hercinian ,forest of old1    
which1 we are told1 could not be        
traversed in less than sixty days4 ,if  
we do not possess the clue1 we shall    
infallibly perish in the attempt1 and   
our thoughts and our memory will expire 

with us4  ,the sentences of this man1   
when he speaks1 or when he writes1 will 
be full of perplexity and confusion4    
,they will be endless1 and never arrive 
at their proper termination4 ,they will 
include parenthesis on parenthesis4 ,we 
perceive the person who delivers them1  
to be perpetually labouring after a     
meaning1 but never reaching it4 ,he is  
like one flung over into the sea1       
unprovided with the skill that should   
enable him to contend with the          
tumultuous element4 ,he flounders about 
in pitiable helplessness1 without the   
chance of extricating himself by all his
 efforts4 ,he is lost in unintelligible 
embarrassment4 ,it is a delightful and a
 ravishing sight1 to observe another man
 come after him1 and tell1 without      
complexity1 and in the simplicity of    
self-possession1 unconscious that there 
was any difficulty1 all that his        
predecessor had fruitlessly exerted     
himself to unfold4  ,there are a        
multitude of causes that will produce a 

miscarriage of this sort1 where the     
richest soil1 impregnated with the      
choicest seeds of learning and          
observation1 shall entirely fail to     
present us with such a crop as might    
rationally have been anticipated4 ,many 
such men waste their lives in indolence 
and irresolution4 ,they attempt many    
things1 sketch out plans1 which1 if     
properly filled up1 might illustrate the
 literature of a nation1 and extend the 
empire of the human mind1 but which yet 
they desert as soon as begun1 affording 
us the promise of a beautiful day1 that1
 ere it is noon1 is enveloped in darkest
 tempests and the clouds of midnight4   
,they skim away from one flower in the  
parterre of literature to another1 like 
the bee1 without1 like the bee1         
gathering sweetness from each1 to       
increase the public stock1 and enrich   
the magazine of thought4 ,the cause of  
this phenomenon is an unsteadiness1 ever
 seduced by the newness of appearances1 
and never settling with firmness and    

determination upon what had been chosen4
  ,others there are that are turned     
aside from the career they might have   
accomplished1 by a visionary and        
impracticable fastidiousness4 ,they can 
find nothing that possesses all the     
requisites that should fix their choice1
 nothing so good that should authorise  
them to present it to public            
observation1 and enable them to offer it
 to their contemporaries as something   
that we should not willingly let die4   
,they begin often2 but nothing they     
produce appears to them such as that    
they should say of it1 ,let this stand4 
,or they never begin1 none of their     
thoughts being judged by them to be     
altogether such as to merit the being   
preserved4 ,they have a microscopic eye1
 and discern faults unworthy to be      
tolerated1 in that in which the critic  
himself might perceive nothing but      
beauty4  ,these phenomena have          
introduced a maxim which is current with
 many1 that the men who write nothing1  

and bequeath no record of themselves to 
posterity1 are not unfrequently of      
larger calibre1 and more gigantic       
standard of soul1 than such as have     
inscribed their names upon the columns  
of the temple of ,fame4 ,and certain it 
is1 that there are extraordinary        
instances which appear in some degree to
 countenance this assertion4 ,many men  
are remembered as authors1 who seem to  
have owed the permanence of their       
reputation rather to fortune than merit4
 ,they were daring1 and stepped into a  
niche that was left in the gallery of   
art or of science1 where others of      
higher qualifications1 but of           
unconquerable modesty1 held back4 ,at   
the same time persons1 whose destiny    
caused them to live among the elite of  
an age1 have seen reason to confess that
 they have heard such talk1 such        
glorious and unpremeditated discourse1  
from men whose thoughts melted away with
 the breath that uttered them1 as the   
wisest of their vaunted contemporary    

authors would in vain have sought to    
rival4  ,the maxim however1             
notwithstanding these appearances1 may  
safely be pronounced to be a fallacious 
one4 ,it has been received in various   
quarters with the greater indulgence1   
inasmuch as the human mind is prone in  
many cases to give a more welcome       
reception to seeming truths1 that       
present us at the first blush the       
appearance of falshood4  ,it must       
however be recollected that the human   
mind consists in the first instance     
merely of faculties prepared to be      
applied to certain purposes1 and        
susceptible of improvement4 ,it cannot  
therefore happen1 that the man1 who has 
chosen a subject towards which to direct
 the energy of his faculties1 who has   
sought on all sides for the materials   
that should enable him to do that       
subject justice1 who has employed upon  
it his contemplations by day1 and his   
meditations during the watches of the   
night1 should not by such exercise      

greatly invigorate his powers4 ,in this 
sense there was much truth in the       
observation of the author who said1 ,i  
did not write upon the subject you      
mention because ,i understood it2 but ,i
 understood it afterward1 because ,i had
 written upon it4  ,the man who merely  
wanders through the fields of knowledge 
in search of its gayest flowers and of  
whatever will afford him the most       
enviable amusement1 will necessarily    
return home at night with a very slender
 collection4 ,he that shall apply       
himself with self-denial and an         
unshrinking resolution to the           
improvement of his mind1 will           
unquestionably be found more fortunate  
in the end4  ,he is not deterred by the 
gulphs that yawn beneath his feet1 or   
the mountains that may oppose themselves
 to his progress4 ,he knows that the    
adventurer of timid mind1 and that is   
infirm of purpose1 will never make      
himself master of those points which it 
would be most honourable to him to      

subdue4 ,but he who undertakes to commit
 to writing the result of his           
researches1 and to communicate his      
discoveries to mankind1 is the genuine  
hero4 ,till he enters on this task1     
every thing is laid up in his memory in 
a certain confusion4 ,he thinks he      
possesses a thing whole2 but1 when he   
brings it to the test1 he is surprised  
to find how much he was deceived4 ,he   
that would digest his thoughts and his  
principles into a regular system1 is    
compelled in the first place to regard  
them in all their clearness and         
perspicuity1 and in the next place to   
select the fittest words by which they  
may be communicated to others4 ,it is   
through the instrumentality of words    
that we are taught to think accurately  
and severely for ourselves2 they are    
part and parcel of all our propositions 
and theories4 ,it is therefore in this  
way that a preceptor1 by undertaking to 
enlighten the mind of his pupil1        
enlightens his own4 ,he becomes twice   

the man in the sequel1 that he was when 
he entered on his task4 ,we admire the  
amateur student in his public essays1 as
 we admire a jackdaw or a parrot3 he    
does considerably more than could have  
been expected from him4  ,in attending  
to the subject of this ,essay we have   
been led to observe the different ways1 
in which the mind of man may be brought 
into a position tending to exhibit its  
powers in a less creditable and         
prepossessing point of view1 than that  
in which all men1 idiots and            
extraordinary cases excepted1 are by    
nature qualified to appear4 ,many1 not  
contented with those occupations1 modest
 and humble in certain cases1 to which  
their endowments and original bent had  
designed them1 shew themselves          
immoderately set upon more alluring and 
splendid pursuits in which they are     
least qualified to excel4 ,other        
instances there are1 still more entitled
 to our regret1 where the individual is 
seen to be gifted with no ordinary      

qualities1 where his morning of life has
 proved auspicious1 and the highest     
expectations were formed of a triumphant
 career1 while yet in the final         
experiment he has been found wanting1   
and the voyage of his life has passed in
 shallows and in miseries4  ,but our    
survey of the subject of which ,i treat 
will not be complete1 unless we add to  
what has been said1 another striking    
truth respecting the imperfection of man
 collectively taken4 ,the examples of   
which the history of our species        
consists1 not only abound in cases1     
where1 from mistakes in the choice of   
life1 or radical and irremediable       
imperfection in the adventurer1 the most
 glaring miscarriages are found to      
result1--but it is also true1 that all  
men1 even the most illustrious1 have    
some fatal weakness1 obliging both them 
and their rational admirers to confess1 
that they partake of human frailty1 and 
belong to a race of beings which has    
small occasion to be proud4 ,each man   

has his assailable part4 ,he is         
vulnerable1 though it be only like the  
fabled ,achilles in his heel4 ,we are   
like the image that ,nebuchadnezzar saw 
in his dream1 of which though the head  
was of fine gold1 and the breast and the
 arms were silver1 yet the feet were    
partly only of iron1 and partly of clay4
 ,no man is whole and entire1 armed at  
all points1 and qualified for every     
undertaking1 or even for any one        
undertaking1 so as to carry it through1 
and to make the achievement he would    
perform1 or the work he would produce1  
in all its parts equal and complete4    
,it is a gross misapprehension in such  
men as1 smitten with admiration of a    
certain cluster of excellencies1 or     
series of heroic acts1 are willing to   
predicate of the individual to whom they
 belong1 ,this man is consummate1 and   
without alloy4 ,take the person in his  
retirement1 in his hours of relaxation1 
when he has no longer a part to play1   
and one or more spectators before whom  

he is desirous to appear to advantage1  
and you shall find him a very ordinary  
man4 ,he has passions1 dimensions1      
senses1 affections1 like the rest of his
 fellow-creatures1 is fed with the same 
food1 hurt with the same weapons1 warmed
 and cooled by the same summer and      
winter4 ,he will therefore1 when        
narrowly observed1 be unquestionably    
found betraying human weaknesses1 and   
falling into fits of ill humour1 spleen1
 peevishness and folly4 ,no man is      
always a sage2 no bosom at all times    
beats with sentiments lofty1            
self-denying and heroic4 ,it is enough  
if he does so1 when the matter fits his 
mighty mind4  ,the literary genius1 who 
undertakes to produce some consummate   
work1 will find himself pitiably in     
error1 if he expects to turn it out of  
his hands1 entire in all its parts1 and 
without a flaw4  ,there are some of the 
essentials of which it is constituted1  
that he has mastered1 and is            
sufficiently familiar with them2 but    

there are others1 especially if his work
 is miscellaneous and comprehensive1 to 
which he is glaringly incompetent4 ,he  
must deny his nature1 and become another
 man1 if he would execute these parts1  
in a manner equal to that which their   
intrinsic value demands1 or to the      
perfection he is able to give to his    
work in those places which are best     
suited to his powers4 ,there are points 
in which the wisest man that ever       
existed is no stronger than a child4 ,in
 this sense the sublimest genius will be
 found infelix operas summa1 nam ponere 
totum nescit4 ,and1 if he properly knows
 himself1 and is aware where lies his   
strength1 and where his weakness1 he    
will look for nothing more in the       
particulars which fall under the last of
 these heads1 than to escape as he can1 
and to pass speedily to things in which 
he finds himself at home and at his     
ease4  ,shakespear we are accustomed to 
call the most universal genius that ever
 existed4 ,he has a truly wonderful     

variety4 ,it is almost impossible to    
pronounce in which he has done best1 his
 ,hamlet1 ,macbeth1 ,lear1 or ,othello4 
,he is equally excellent in his comic   
vein as his tragic4 ,falstaff is in his 
degree to the full as admirable and     
astonishing1 as what he achieved that is
 noblest under the auspices of the      
graver muse4 ,his poetry and the fruits 
of his imagination are unrivalled4 ,his 
language1 in all that comes from him    
when his genius is most alive1 has a    
richness1 an unction1 and all those     
signs of a character which admits not of
 mortality and decay1 for ever fresh as 
when it was first uttered1 which we     
recognise1 while we can hardly persuade 
ourselves that we are not in a delusion4
 ,as ,anthony ,wood says7#d71 ,by the   
writings of ,shakespear and others of   
his time1 the ,english tongue was       
exceedingly enriched1 and made quite    
another thing than what it was before4  
,his versification on these occasions   
has a melody1 a ripeness and variety    

that no other pen has reached4      7#d7
 ,athenae ,oxonienses1 vol4 i4 p4 #eib4 
,yet there were things that ,shakespear 
could not do4 ,he could not make a hero4
 ,familiar as he was with the evanescent
 touches of mind en dishabille1 and in  
its innermost feelings1 he could not    
sustain the tone of a character1        
penetrated with a divine enthusiasm1 or 
fervently devoted to a generous cause1  
though this is truly within the compass 
of our nature1 and is more than any     
other worthy to be delineated4 ,he could
 conceive such sentiments1 for there are
 such in his personage of ,brutus2 but  
he could not fill out and perfect what  
he has thus sketched4 ,he seems even to 
have had a propensity to bring the      
mountain and the hill to a level with   
the plain4 ,caesar is spiritless1 and   
,cicero is ridiculous1 in his hands4 ,he
 appears to have written his ,troilus   
and ,cressida partly with a view to     
degrade1 and hold up to contempt1 the   
heroes of ,homer2 and he has even       

disfigured the pure1 heroic affection   
which the ,greek poet has painted as    
existing between ,achilles and          
,patroclus with the most odious         
imputations4  ,and1 as he could not     
sustain an heroic character throughout1 
so neither could he construct a perfect 
plot1 in which the interest should be   
perpetually increasing1 and the         
curiosity of the spectator kept alive   
and in suspense to the last moment4     
,several of his plays have an unity of  
subject to which nothing is wanting2 but
 he has not left us any production that 
should rival that boast of ,ancient     
,greece in the conduct of a plot1 the   
,o,edipus ,tyrannus1 a piece in which   
each act rises upon the act before1 like
 a tower that lifts its head story above
 story to the skies4 ,he has scarcely   
ever given to any of his plays a fifth  
act1 worthy of those that preceded2 the 
interest generally decreases after the  
third4  ,shakespear is also liable to   
the charge of obscurity4 ,the most      

sagacious critics dispute to this very  
hour1 whether ,hamlet is or is not mad1 
and whether ,falstaff is a brave man or 
a coward4 ,this defect is perhaps partly
 to be imputed to the nature of dramatic
 writing4 ,it is next to impossible to  
make words1 put into the mouth of a     
character1 develop all those things     
passing in his mind1 which it may be    
desirable should be known4  ,i spoke1 a 
short time back1 of the language of     
,shakespear in his finest passages1 as  
of unrivalled excellence and beauty2 ,i 
might almost have called it miraculous4 
,o1 si sic omnia6 ,it is to be lamented 
that this felicity often deserts him4   
,he is not seldom cramp1 rigid and      
pedantic4 ,what is best in him is       
eternal1 of all ages and times2 but what
 is worst1 is crusted with an           
integument1 almost more cumbrous than   
that of any other writer1 his           
contemporary1 the merits of whose works 
continue to invite us to their perusal4 
,after ,shakespear1 it is scarcely worth

 while to bring forward any other       
example1 of a writer who1               
notwithstanding his undoubted claims to 
excellencies of the highest order1 yet  
in his productions fully displays the   
inequality and non-universality of his  
genius4 ,one of the most remarkable     
instances may be alleged in ,richardson1
 the author of ,clarissa4 ,in his       
delineation of female delicacy1 of      
high-souled and generous sentiments1 of 
the subtlest feelings and even mental   
aberrations of virtuous distress        
strained beyond the power of human      
endurance1 nothing ever equalled this   
author4 ,but he could not shape out the 
image of a perfect gentleman1 or of that
 winning gaiety of soul1 which may      
indeed be exemplified1 but can never be 
defined1 and never be resisted4 ,his    
profligate is a man without taste2 and  
his coquettes are insolent and          
profoundly revolting4 ,he has no        
resemblance of the art1 so conspicuous  
in ,fletcher and ,farquhar1 of          

presenting to the reader or spectator an
 hilarity1 bubbling and spreading forth 
from a perennial spring1 which we love  
as surely as we feel1 which communicates
 its own tone to the bystander1 and     
makes our very hearts dance within us   
with a responsive sportiveness4 ,we are 
astonished however that the formal      
pedant has acquitted himself of his     
uncongenial task with so great a display
 of intellectual wealth2 and1 though he 
has not presented to us the genuine     
picture of an intellectual profligate1  
or of that lovely gaiety of the female  
spirit which we have all of us seen1 but
 which it is scarcely possible to fix   
and to copy1 we almost admire the more  
the astonishing talent1 that1 having    
undertaken a task for which it was so   
eminently unfit1 yet has been able to   
substitute for the substance so amazing 
a mockery1 and has treated with so much 
copiousness and power what it was unfit 
ever to have attempted4     ,,essay     
,,iv4 ,,of ,,the ,,durability ,,of      

,,human ,,achievements ,,and            
,,productions4  ,there is a view of the 
character of man1 calculated more       
perhaps than any other to impress us    
with reverence and awe4  ,man is the    
only creature we know1 that1 when the   
term of his natural life is ended1      
leaves the memory of himself behind him4
  ,all other animals have but one object
 in view in their more considerable     
actions1 the supply of the humbler      
accommodations of their nature4 ,man has
 a power sufficient for the             
accomplishment of this object1 and a    
residue of power beyond1 which he is    
able1 and which he not unfrequently     
feels himself prompted1 to employ in    
consecutive efforts1 and thus1 first by 
the application and arrangement of      
material substances1 and afterward by   
the faculty he is found to possess of   
giving a permanent record to his        
thoughts1 to realise the archetypes and 
conceptions which previously existed    
only in his mind4  ,one method1         

calculated to place this fact strongly  
before us1 is1 to suppose ourselves     
elevated1 in a balloon or otherwise1 so 
as to enable us to take an extensive    
prospect of the earth on which we dwell4
 ,we shall then see the plains and the  
everlasting hills1 the forests and the  
rivers1 and all the exuberance of       
production which nature brings forth for
 the supply of her living progeny4 ,we  
shall see multitudes of animals1 herds  
of cattle and of beasts of prey1 and all
 the varieties of the winged tenants of 
the air4 ,but we shall also behold1 in a
 manner almost equally calculated to    
arrest our attention1 the traces and the
 monuments of human industry4 ,we shall 
see castles and churches1 and hamlets   
and mighty cities4 ,we shall see this   
strange creature1 man1 subjecting all   
nature to his will4 ,he builds bridges1 
and he constructs aqueducts4 ,he goes   
down to the sea in ships1 and variegates
 the ocean with his squadrons and his   
fleets4 ,to the person thus mounted in  

the air to take a wide and magnificent  
prospect1 there seems to be a sort of   
contest between the face of the earth1  
as it may be supposed to have been at   
first1 and the ingenuity of man1 which  
shall occupy and possess itself of the  
greatest number of acres4 ,we cover     
immense regions of the globe with the   
tokens of human cultivation4  ,thus the 
matter stands as to the exertions of the
 power of man in the application and    
arrangement of material substances4     
,but there is something to a profound   
and contemplative mind much more        
extraordinary1 in the effects produced  
by the faculty we possess of giving a   
permanent record to our thoughts4  ,from
 the development of this faculty all    
human science and literature take their 
commencement4 ,here it is that we most  
distinctly1 and with the greatest       
astonishment1 perceive that man is a    
miracle4 ,declaimers are perpetually    
expatiating to us upon the shortness of 
human life4 ,and yet all this is        

performed by us1 when the wants of our  
nature have already by our industry been
 supplied4 ,we manufacture these        
sublimities and everlasting monuments   
out of the bare remnants and shreds of  
our time4  ,the labour of the intellect 
of man is endless4 ,how copious is the  
volume1 and how extraordinary the       
variety1 of our sciences and our arts6  
,the number of men is exceedingly great 
in every civilised state of society1    
that make these the sole object of their
 occupation4 ,and this has been more or 
less the condition of our species in all
 ages1 ever since we left the savage and
 the pastoral modes of existence4  ,from
 this view of the history of man we are 
led by an easy transition to the        
consideration of the nature and         
influence of the love of fame in        
modifying the actions of the human mind4
 ,we have already stated it to be one of
 the characteristic distinctions of our 
species to erect monuments which outlast
 the existence of the persons that      

produced them4 ,this at first was       
accidental1 and did not enter the design
 of the operator4 ,the man who built    
himself a shed to protect him from the  
inclemency of the seasons1 and          
afterwards exchanged that shed for a    
somewhat more commodious dwelling1 did  
not at first advert to the circumstance 
that the accommodation might last1 when 
he was no longer capable to partake of  
it4  ,in this way perhaps the wish to   
extend the memory of ourselves beyond   
the term of our mortal existence1 and   
the idea of its being practicable to    
gratify that wish1 descended upon us    
together4 ,in contemplating the brief   
duration and the uncertainty of human   
life1 the idea must necessarily have    
occurred1 that we might survive those we
 loved1 or that they might survive us4  
,in the first case we inevitably wish   
more or less to cherish the memory of   
the being who once was an object of     
affection to us1 but of whose society   
death has deprived us4 ,in the second   

case it can scarcely happen but that we 
desire ourselves to be kindly           
recollected by those we leave behind us4
 ,so simple is the first germ of that   
longing after posthumous honour1 which  
presents us with so memorable effects in
 the page of history4  ,but1 previously 
to the further consideration of         
posthumous fame1 let us turn our        
attention for a moment to the fame1 or1 
as in that sense it is more usually     
styled1 popularity1 which is the lot of 
a few favoured individuals while they   
live4 ,the attending to the subject in  
this point of view1 will be found to    
throw light upon the more extensive     
prospect of the question to which we    
will immediately afterwards proceed4    
,popularity is an acquisition more level
 to the most ordinary capacities1 and   
therefore is a subject of more general  
ambition1 than posthumous fame4 ,it     
addresses itself to the senses4         
,applause is a species of good fortune  
to which perhaps no mortal ear is       

indifferent4 ,the persons who constitute
 the circle in which we are applauded1  
receive us with smiles of approbation   
and sympathy4 ,they pay their court to  
us1 seem to be made happy by our bare   
presence among them1 and welcome us to  
their houses with congratulation and    
joy4 ,the vulgar portion of mankind     
scarcely understand the question of     
posthumous fame1 they cannot comprehend 
how panegyric and honour can soothe the 
dull1 cold ear of death3 but they can   
all conceive the gratification to be    
derived from applauding multitudes and  
loud huzzas4  ,one of the most obvious  
features however that attends upon      
popularity1 is its fugitive nature4 ,no 
man has once been popular1 and has lived
 long1 without experiencing neglect at  
least1 if he were not also at some time 
subjected to the very intelligible      
disapprobation and censure of his       
fellows4 ,the good will and kindness of 
the multitude has a devouring appetite1 
and is like a wild beast that you should

 stable under your roof1 which1 if you  
do not feed with a continual supply1    
will turn about and attack its          
protector4       ,one touch of nature   
makes the whole world kin1--      ,that 
all1 with one consent1 praise new-born  
gauds1      ,and give to dust1 that is a
 little gilt1      ,more laud than they 
will give to gold o'erdusted4  ,cromwel 
well understood the nature of this      
topic1 when he said1 as we are told1 to 
one of his military companions1 who     
called his attention to the rapturous   
approbation with which they were        
received by the crowd on their return   
from a successful expedition1 ,ah1 my   
friend1 they would accompany us with    
equal demonstrations of delight1 if1    
upon no distant occasion1 they were to  
see us going to be hanged6  ,the same   
thing which happens to the popularity   
attendant on the real or imaginary hero 
of the multitude1 happens also in the   
race after posthumous fame4  ,as has    
already been said1 the number of men is 

exceedingly great in every civilised    
state of society1 who make the sciences 
and arts engendered by the human mind1  
the sole or the principal objects of    
their occupation4  ,this will perhaps be
 most strikingly illustrated by a       
retrospect of the state of ,european    
society in the middle1 or1 as they are  
frequently styled1 the dark ages4  ,it  
has been a vulgar error to imagine1 that
 the mind of man1 so far as relates to  
its active and inventive powers1 was    
sunk into a profound sleep1 from which  
it gradually recovered itself at the    
period when ,constantinople was taken by
 the ,turks1 and the books and the      
teachers of the ancient ,greek language 
were dispersed through ,europe4 ,the    
epoch from which modern invention took  
its rise1 commenced much earlier4 ,the  
feudal system1 one of the most          
interesting contrivances of man in      
society1 was introduced in the ninth    
century2 and chivalry1 the offspring of 
that system1 an institution to which we 

are mainly indebted for refinement of   
sentiment1 and humane and generous      
demeanour1 in the eleventh4 ,out of     
these grew the originality and the      
poetry of romance4  ,these were no mean 
advancements4 ,but perhaps the greatest 
debt which after ages have contracted to
 this remote period1 arose out of the   
system of monasteries and ecclesiastical
 celibacy4 ,owing to these a numerous   
race of men succeeded to each other     
perpetually1 who were separated from the
 world1 cut off from the endearments of 
conjugal and parental affection1 and who
 had a plenitude of leisure for solitary
 application4 ,to these men we are      
indebted for the preservation of the    
literature of ,rome1 and the multiplied 
copies of the works of the ancients4    
,nor were they contented only with the  
praise of never-ending industry4 ,they  
forged many works1 that afterwards      
passed for classical1 and which have    
demanded all the perspicacity of        
comparative criticism to refute4 ,and in

 these pursuits the indefatigable men   
who were dedicated to them1 were not    
even goaded by the love of fame4 ,they  
were satisfied with the consciousness of
 their own perseverance and ingenuity4  
,but the most memorable body of men that
 adorned these ages1 were the           
,schoolmen4 ,they may be considered as  
the discoverers of the art of logic4    
,the ancients possessed in an eminent   
degree the gift of genius2 but they have
 little to boast on the score of        
arrangement1 and discover little skill  
in the strictness of an accurate        
deduction4 ,they rather arrive at truth 
by means of a felicity of impulse1 than 
in consequence of having regularly gone 
through the process which leads to it4  
,the schools of the middle ages gave    
birth to the ,irrefragable and the      
,seraphic doctors1 the subtlety of whose
 distinctions1 and the perseverance of  
whose investigations1 are among the most
 wonderful monuments of the intellectual
 power of man4 ,the thirteenth century  

produced ,thomas ,aquinas1 and ,johannes
 ,duns ,scotus1 and ,william ,occam1 and
 ,roger ,bacon4 ,in the century before1 
,thomas a ,becket drew around him a     
circle of literary men1 whose           
correspondence has been handed down to  
us1 and who deemed it their proudest    
distinction that they called each other 
philosophers4 ,the ,schoolmen often     
bewildered themselves in their          
subtleties1 and often delivered dogmas  
and systems that may astonish the common
 sense of unsophisticated               
understandings4 ,but such is man4 ,so   
great is his persevering labour1 his    
invincible industry1 and the resolution 
with which he sets himself1 year after  
year1 and lustre after lustre1 to       
accomplish the task which his judgment  
and his zeal have commanded him to      
pursue4  ,but ,i return to the question 
of literary fame4 ,all these men1 and   
men of a hundred other classes1 who     
laboured most commendably and gallantly 
in their day1 may be considered as swept

 away into the gulph of oblivion4 ,as   
,swift humorously says in his           
,dedication to ,prince ,posterity1 ,i   
had prepared a copious list of ,titles  
to present to your highness1 as an      
undisputed argument of the prolificness 
of human genius in my own time3 the     
originals were posted upon all gates and
 corner's of streets3 but1 returning in 
a very few hours to take a review1 they 
were all torn down1 and fresh ones put  
in their places4 ,i enquired after them 
among readers and booksellers1 but in   
vain3 the memorial of them was lost     
among men2 their place was no more to be
 found4  ,it is a just remark that had  
been made by ,hume7#e73 ,theories of    
abstract philosophy1 systems of profound
 theology1 have prevailed during one    
age4 ,in a successive period these have 
been universally exploded2 their        
absurdity has been detected2 other      
theories and systems have supplied their
 place1 which again gave way to their   
successors2 and nothing has been        

experienced more liable to the          
revolutions of chance and fashion than  
these pretended decisions of science4   
,the case is not the same with the      
beauties of eloquence and poetry4 ,just 
expressions of passion and nature are   
sure1 after a little time1 to gain      
public applause1 which they maintain for
 ever4 ,aristotle and ,plato and        
,epicurus and ,descartes may            
successively yield to each other3 but   
,terence and ,virgil maintain an        
universal1 undisputed empire over the   
minds of men4 ,the abstract philosophy  
of ,cicero has lost its credit3 the     
vehemence of his oratory is still the   
object of our admiration4  7#e7 ,essays1
 ,part #a1 ,essay xxiii4   ,a few       
examples of the instability of fame will
 place this question in the clearest    
light4  ,nicholas ,peiresk was born in  
the year #aehj4 ,his progress in        
knowledge was so various and            
unprecedented1 that1 from the time that 
he was twenty-one years of age1 he was  

universally considered as holding the   
helm of learning in his hand1 and       
guiding the commonwealth of letters4 ,he
 died at the age of fifty-seven4 ,the   
academy of the ,humoristi at ,rome paid 
the most extraordinary honours to his   
memory2 many of the cardinals assisted  
at his funeral oration2 and a collection
 of verses in his praise was published  
in more than forty languages4           
,salmasius was regarded as a prodigy of 
learning2 and various princes and powers
 entered into a competition who should  
be so fortunate as to secure his        
residence in their states4 ,christina1  
queen of ,sweden1 having obtained the   
preference1 received him with singular  
reverence and attention2 and1 ,salmasius
 being taken ill at ,stockholm1 and     
confined to his bed1 the queen persisted
 with her own hand to prepare his       
caudles1 and mend his fire4 ,yet1 but   
for the accident of his having had      
,milton for his adversary1 his name     
would now be as little remembered1 even 

by the generality of the learned1 as    
that of ,peiresk4  ,du ,bartas1 in the  
reign of ,henry the ,fourth of ,france1 
was one of the most successful poets    
that ever existed4 ,his poem on the     
,creation of the ,world went through    
upwards of thirty editions in the course
 of five or six years1 was translated   
into most ,european languages1 and its  
commentators promised to equal in       
copiousness and number the commentators 
on ,homer4  ,one of the most admired of 
our ,english poets about the close of   
the sixteenth century1 was ,donne4      
,unlike many of those trivial writers of
 verse who succeeded him after an       
interval of forty or fifty years1 and   
who won for themselves a brilliant      
reputation by the smoothness of their   
numbers1 the elegance of their          
conceptions1 and the politeness of their
 style1 ,donne was full of originality1 
energy and vigour4 ,no man can read him 
without feeling himself called upon for 
earnest exercise of his thinking powers1

 and1 even with the most fixed attention
 and application1 the student is often  
obliged to confess his inability to take
 in the whole of the meaning with which 
the poet's mind was perceptibly fraught4
 ,every sentence that ,donne writes1    
whether in verse or prose1 is           
exclusively his own4 ,in addition to    
this1 his thoughts are often in the     
noblest sense of the word poetical2 and 
passages may be quoted from him that no 
,english poet may attempt to rival1     
unless it be ,milton and ,shakespear4   
,ben ,jonson observed of him with great 
truth and a prophetic spirit3 ,donne for
 not being understood will perish4 ,but 
this is not all4 ,if ,waller and        
,suckling and ,carew sacrificed every   
thing to the ,graces1 ,donne went into  
the other extreme4 ,with a few splendid 
and admirable exceptions1 his           
phraseology and versification are       
crabbed and repulsive4 ,and1 as poetry  
is read in the first place for pleasure1
 ,donne is left undisturbed on the      

shelf1 or rather in the sepulchre2 and  
not one in an hundred even among persons
 of cultivation1 can give any account of
 him1 if in reality they ever heard of  
his productions4  ,the name of          
,shakespear is that before which every  
knee must bow4 ,but it was not always   
so4 ,when the first novelty of his      
pieces was gone1 they were seldom called
 into requisition4 ,only three or four  
of his plays were upon the acting list  
of the principal company of players     
during the reign of ,charles the        
,second2 and the productions of         
,beaumont and ,fletcher1 and of         
,shirley1 were acted three times for    
once of his4 ,at length ,betterton      
revived1 and by his admirable           
representation gave popularity to1      
,macbeth1 ,hamlet and ,lear1 a          
popularity they have ever since         
retained4 ,but ,macbeth was not revived 
7with music1 and alterations by sir     
,william ,davenant7 till #afgd2 and     
,lear a few years later1 with love      

scenes and a happy catastrophe by ,nahum
 ,tate4  ,in the latter part of the     
reign of ,charles the ,second1 ,dryden  
and ,otway and ,lee held the undisputed 
supremacy in the serious drama4  ,such  
was the insensibility of the ,english   
public to nature1 and her high priest1  
,shakespear4 ,the only one of their     
productions that has survived upon the  
theatre1 is ,venice ,preserved3 and why 
it has done so it is difficult to say2  
or rather it would be impossible to     
assign a just and honourable reason for 
it4 ,all the personages in this piece   
are of an abandoned and profligate      
character4 ,pierre is a man resolved to 
destroy and root up the republic by     
which he was employed1 because his      
mistress1 a courtesan1 is mercenary1 and
 endures the amorous visits of an       
impotent old lecher4 ,jaffier1 without  
even the profession of any public       
principle1 joins in the conspiracy1     
because he has been accustomed to luxury
 and prodigal expence and is poor4 ,he  

has however no sooner entered into the  
plot1 than he betrays it1 and turns     
informer to the government against his  
associates4 ,belvidera instigates him to
 this treachery1 because she cannot bear
 the thought of having her father       
murdered1 and is absurd enough to       
imagine that she and her husband shall  
be tender and happy lovers ever after4  
,their love in the latter acts of the   
play is a continued tirade of bombast   
and sounding nonsense1 without one real 
sentiment1 one just reflection1 or one  
strong emotion working from the heart1  
and analysing the nature of man4 ,the   
folly of this love can only be exceeded1
 by the abject and despicable crouching 
and fawning of ,jaffier to the man he   
had so basely betrayed1 and their       
subsequent reconciliation4 ,there is not
 a production in the whole realms of    
fiction1 that has less pretension to    
manly1 or even endurable feeling1 or to 
common propriety4 ,the total defect of a
 moral sense in this piece is strongly  

characteristic of the reign in which it 
was written4 ,it has in the mean while a
 richness of melody1 and a              
picturesqueness of action1 that enables 
it to delude1 and that even draws tears 
from the eyes of1 persons who can be won
 over by the eye and the ear1 with      
almost no participation of the          
understanding4 ,and this unmeaning rant 
and senseless declamation sufficed for  
the time to throw into shade those      
exquisite delineations of character1    
those transcendent bursts of passion1   
and that perfect anatomy of the human   
heart1 which render the master-pieces of
 ,shakespear a property for all nations 
and all times4  ,while ,shakespear was  
partly forgotten1 it continued to be    
totally unknown that he had             
contemporaries as inexpressibly superior
 to the dramatic writers that have      
appeared since1 as these contemporaries 
were themselves below the almighty      
master of scenic composition4 ,it was   
the fashion to say1 that ,shakespear    

existed alone in a barbarous age1 and   
that all his imputed crudities1 and     
intermixture of what was noblest with   
unparalleled absurdity and buffoonery1  
were to be allowed for to him on that   
consideration4  ,cowley stands forward  
as a memorable instance of the          
inconstancy of fame4 ,he was a most     
amiable man2 and the loveliness of his  
mind shines out in his productions4 ,he 
had a truly poetic frame of soul2 and he
 pours out the beautiful feelings that  
possessed him unreservedly and at large4
 ,he was a great sufferer in the ,stuart
 cause1 he had been a principal member  
of the court of the exiled queen2 and1  
when the king was restored1 it was a    
deep sentiment among his followers and  
friends to admire the verses of ,cowley4
 ,he was the ,poet4 ,the royalist       
rhymers were set lightly by in          
comparison with him4 ,milton1 the       
republican1 who1 by his collection      
published during the civil war1 had     
shewn that he was entitled to the       

highest eminence1 was unanimously       
consigned to oblivion4 ,cowley died in  
#affg2 and the duke of ,buckingham1 the 
author of the ,rehearsal1 eight years   
after1 set up his tomb in the cemetery  
of the nation1 with an inscription1     
declaring him to be at once the ,pindar1
 the ,horace and ,virgil of his country1
 the delight and the glory of his age1  
which by his death was left a perpetual 
mourner4--,yet--so capricious is fame--a
 century has nearly elapsed1 since ,pope
 said1       ,who now reads ,cowley8    
,if he pleases yet1      ,his moral     
pleases1 not his pointed wit2           
,forgot his epic1 nay1 ,pindaric art1   
,but still ,i love the language of his  
heart4  ,as ,cowley was the great       
royalist poet after the ,restoration1   
,cleveland stood in the same rank during
 the civil war4 ,in the publication of  
his works one edition succeeded to      
another1 yearly or oftener1 for more    
than twenty years4 ,his satire is       
eminently poignant2 he is of a strength 

and energy of thinking uncommonly       
masculine2 and he compresses his meaning
 so as to give it every advantage4 ,his 
imagination is full of coruscation and  
brilliancy4 ,his petition to ,cromwel1  
lord protector of ,england1 when the    
poet was under confinement for his loyal
 principles1 is a singular example of   
manly firmness1 great independence of   
mind1 and a happy choice of topics to   
awaken feelings of forbearance and      
clemency4 ,it is unnecessary to say that
 ,cleveland is now unknown1 except to   
such as feel themselves impelled to     
search into things forgotten4  ,it would
 be endless to adduce all the examples  
that might be found of the caprices of  
fame4 ,it has been one of the arts of   
the envious to set up a contemptible    
rival to eclipse the splendour of       
sterling merit4 ,thus ,crowne and       
,settle for a time disturbed the        
serenity of ,dryden4 ,voltaire says1 the
 ,phaedra of ,pradon has not less       
passion than that of ,racine1 but       

expressed in rugged verse and barbarous 
language4 ,pradon is now forgotten3 and 
the whole ,french poetry of the         
,augustan age of ,louis the ,fourteenth 
is threatened with the same fate4       
,hayley for a few years was applauded as
 the genuine successor of ,pope2 and the
 poem of ,sympathy by ,pratt went       
through twelve editions4 ,for a brief   
period almost each successive age       
appears fraught with resplendent genius2
 but they go out one after another2 they
 set1 like stars that fall1 to rise no  
more4 ,few indeed are endowed with that 
strength of construction1 that should   
enable them to ride triumphant on the   
tide of ages4  ,it is the same with     
conquerors4 ,what tremendous battles    
have been fought1 what oceans of blood  
have been spilled1 by men who were      
resolved that their achievements should 
be remembered for ever6 ,and now even   
their names are scarcely preserved2 and 
the very effects of the disasters they  
inflicted on mankind seem to be swept   

away1 as of no more validity than things
 that never existed4 ,warriors and      
poets1 the authors of systems and the   
lights of philosophy1 men that          
astonished the earth1 and were looked up
 to as ,gods1 even like an actor on the 
stage1 have strutted their hour1 and    
then been heard of no more4  ,books have
 the advantage of all other productions 
of the human head or hand4 ,copies of   
them may be multiplied for ever1 the    
last as good as the first1 except so far
 as some slight inadvertent errors may  
have insinuated themselves4 ,the ,iliad 
flourishes as green now1 as on the day  
that ,pisistratus is said first to have 
stamped upon it its present order4 ,the 
songs of the ,rhapsodists1 the ,scalds1 
and the ,minstrels1 which once seemed as
 fugitive as the breath of him who      
chaunted them1 repose in libraries1 and 
are embalmed in collections4 ,the       
sportive sallies of eminent wits1 and   
the ,table ,talk of ,luther and ,selden1
 may live as long as there shall be men 

to read1 and judges to appreciate them4 
,but other human productions have their 
date4 ,pictures1 however admirable1 will
 only last as long as the colours of    
which they are composed1 and the        
substance on which they are painted4    
,three or four hundred years ordinarily 
limit the existence of the most         
favoured4 ,we have scarcely any         
paintings of the ancients1 and but a    
small portion of their statues1 while of
 these a great part are mutilated1 and  
various members supplied by later and   
inferior artists4 ,the library of ,bufo 
is by ,pope described1            where 
busts of poets dead1       ,and a true  
,pindar stood without a head4           
,monumental records1 alike the slightest
 and the most solid1 are subjected to   
the destructive operation of time1 or to
 the being removed at the caprice or    
convenience of successive generations4  
,the pyramids of ,egypt remain1 but the 
names of him who founded them1 and of   
him whose memory they seemed destined to

 perpetuate1 have perished together4    
,buildings for the use or habitation of 
man do not last for ever4 ,mighty       
cities1 as well as detached edifices1   
are destined to disappear4 ,thebes1 and 
,troy1 and ,persepolis1 and ,palmyra    
have vanished from the face of the      
earth4  ,thorns and brambles have grown 
up in their palaces3 they are           
habitations for serpents1 and a court   
for the owl4  ,there are productions of 
man however that seem more durable than 
any of the edifices he has raised4 ,such
 are1 in the first place1 modes of      
government4 ,the constitution of ,sparta
 lasted for seven hundred years4 ,that  
of ,rome for about the same period4     
,institutions1 once deeply rooted in the
 habits of a people1 will operate in    
their effects through successive        
revolutions4 ,modes of faith will       
sometimes be still more permanent4 ,not 
to mention the systems of ,moses and    
,christ1 which we consider as delivered 
to us by divine inspiration1 that of    

,mahomet has continued for twelve       
hundred years1 and may last1 for aught  
that appears1 twelve hundred more4 ,the 
practices of the empire of ,china are   
celebrated all over the earth for their 
immutability4  ,this brings us naturally
 to reflect upon the durability of the  
sciences4 ,according to ,bailly1 the    
observation of the heavens1 and a       
calculation of the revolutions of the   
heavenly bodies1 in other words1        
astronomy1 subsisted in maturity in     
,china and the ,east1 for at least three
 thousand years before the birth of     
,christ3 and1 such as it was then1 it   
bids fair to last as long as            
civilisation shall continue4 ,the       
additions it has acquired of late years 
may fall away and perish1 but the       
substance shall remain4 ,the circulation
 of the blood in man and other animals1 
is a discovery that shall never be      
antiquated4 ,and the same may be averred
 of the fundamental elements of geometry
 and of some other sciences4 ,knowledge1

 in its most considerable branches shall
 endure1 as long as books shall exist to
 hand it down to successive generations4
  ,it is just therefore1 that we should 
regard with admiration and awe the      
nature of man1 by whom these mighty     
things have been accomplished1 at the   
same time that the perishable quality of
 its individual monuments1 and the      
temporary character and inconstancy of  
that fame which in many instances has   
filled the whole earth with its renown1 
may reasonably quell the fumes of an    
inordinate vanity1 and keep alive in us 
the sentiment of a wholsome diffidence  
and humility4     ,,essay ,v4 ,,of ,,the
 ,,rebelliousness ,,of ,,man4  ,there is
 a particular characteristic in the     
nature of the human mind1 which is      
somewhat difficult to be explained4     
,man is a being of a rational and an    
irrational nature4  ,it has often been  
said that we have two souls4 ,araspes1  
in the ,cyropedia1 adopts this language 
to explain his inconsistency1 and       

desertion of principle and honour4 ,the 
two souls of man1 according to this     
hypothesis1 are1 first1 animal1 and1    
secondly1 intellectual4  ,but ,i am not 
going into any thing of this slight and 
every-day character4  ,man is a rational
 being4 ,it is by this particular that  
he is eminently distinguished from the  
brute creation4 ,he collects premises   
and deduces conclusions4 ,he enters into
 systems of thinking1 and combines      
systems of action1 which he pursues from
 day to day1 and from year to year4 ,it 
is by this feature in his constitution  
that he becomes emphatically the subject
 of history1 of poetry and fiction4 ,it 
is by this that he is raised above the  
other inhabitants of the globe of earth1
 and that the individuals of our race   
are made the partners of gods1 and men  
like gods4  ,but our nature1 beside     
this1 has another section4 ,we start    
occasionally ten thousand miles awry4   
,we resign the sceptre of reason1 and   
the high dignity that belongs to us as  

beings of a superior species2 and1      
without authority derived to us from any
 system of thinking1 even without the   
scheme of gratifying any vehement and   
uncontrolable passion1 we are impelled  
to do1 or at least feel ourselves       
excited to do1 something disordinate and
 strange4 ,it seems as if we had a      
spring within us1 that found the        
perpetual restraint of being wise and   
sober insupportable4 ,we long to be     
something1 or to do something1 sudden   
and unexpected1 to throw the furniture  
of our apartment out at window1 or1 when
 we are leaving a place of worship1 in  
which perhaps the most solemn feelings  
of our nature have been excited1 to push
 the grave person that is just before   
us1 from the top of the stairs to the   
bottom4 ,a thousand absurdities1 wild   
and extravagant vagaries1 come into our 
heads1 and we are only restrained from  
perpetrating them by the fear1 that we  
may be subjected to the treatment       
appropriated to the insane1 or may      

perhaps be made amenable to the criminal
 laws of our country4  ,a story occurs  
to me1 which ,i learned from the late   
,dr4 ,parr at ,hatton1 that may not     
unhappily illustrate the point ,i am    
endeavouring to explain4  ,dr4 ,samuel  
,clarke1 rector of ,st4 ,james's1       
,westminster1 the especial friend of    
,sir ,isaac ,newton1 the distinguished  
editor of the poems of ,homer1 and      
author of the ,demonstration of the     
,being and ,attributes of ,god1 was one 
day summoned from his study1 to receive 
two visitors in the parlour4 ,when he   
came downstairs1 and entered the room1  
he saw a foreigner1 who by his air      
seemed to be a person of distinction1 a 
professor perhaps of some university on 
the continent2 and an alderman of       
,london1 a relation of the doctor1 who  
had come to introduce the foreigner4    
,the alderman1 a man of uncultivated    
mind and manners1 and whom the doctor   
had been accustomed to see in sordid    
attire1 surrounded with the incumbrances

 of his trade1 was decked out for the   
occasion in a full-dress suit1 with a   
wig of majestic and voluminous          
structure4 ,clarke was1 as it appears1  
so much struck with the whimsical nature
 of this unexpected metamorphosis1 and  
the extraordinary solemnity of his      
kinsman's demeanour1 as to have felt    
impelled1 almost immediately upon       
entering the room1 to snatch the wig    
from the alderman's head1 and throw it  
against the ceiling3 after which this   
eminent person immediately escaped1 and 
retired to his own apartment4 ,i was    
informed from the same authority1 that  
,clarke1 after exhausting his           
intellectual faculties by long and      
intense study1 would not unfrequently   
quit his seat1 leap upon the table1 and 
place himself cross-legged like a       
tailor1 being prompted1 by these        
antagonist sallies1 to relieve himself  
from the effect of the too severe strain
 he had previously put upon his         
intellectual powers4  ,but the          

deviousness and aberration of our human 
faculties frequently amount to something
 considerably more serious than this4   
,i will put a case4  ,i will suppose    
myself and another human being together1
 in some spot secure from the intrusion 
of spectators4 ,a musket is conveniently
 at hand4 ,it is already loaded4 ,i say 
to my companion1 ,i will place myself   
before you2 ,i will stand motionless3   
take up that musket1 and shoot me       
through the heart4 ,i want to know what 
passes in the mind of the man to whom   
these words are addressed4  ,i say1 that
 one of the thoughts that will occur to 
many of the persons who should be so    
invited1 will be1 ,shall ,i take him at 
his word8  ,there are two things that   
restrain us from acts of violence and   
crime4 ,the first is1 the laws of       
morality4 ,the second is1 the           
construction that will be put upon our  
actions by our fellow-creatures1 and the
 treatment we shall receive from        
them4--,i put out of the question here  

any particular value ,i may entertain   
for my challenger1 or any degree of     
friendship and attachment ,i may feel   
for him4  ,the laws of morality 7setting
 aside the consideration of any         
documents of religion or otherwise ,i   
may have imbibed from my parents and    
instructors7 are matured within us by   
experience4 ,in proportion as ,i am     
rendered familiar with my               
fellow-creatures1 or with society at    
large1 ,i come to feel the ties which   
bind men to each other1 and the wisdom  
and necessity of governing my conduct by
 inexorable rules4 ,we are thus further 
and further removed from unexpected     
sallies of the mind1 and the danger of  
suddenly starting away into acts not    
previously reflected on and considered4 
,with respect to the censure and        
retaliation of other men on my          
proceeding1 these1 by the terms of my   
supposition1 are left out of the        
question4  ,it may be taken for granted1
 that no man but a madman1 would in the 

case ,i have stated take the challenger 
at his word4 ,but what ,i want to       
ascertain is1 why the bare thought of   
doing so takes a momentary hold of the  
mind of the person addressed8  ,there   
are three principles in the nature of   
man which contribute to account for     
this4  ,first1 the love of novelty4     
,secondly1 the love of enterprise and   
adventure4 ,i become insupportably      
wearied with the repetition of rotatory 
acts and every-day occurrences4 ,i want 
to be alive1 to be something more than  
,i commonly am1 to change the scene1 to 
cut the cable that binds my bark to the 
shore1 to launch into the wide sea of   
possibilities1 and to nourish my        
thoughts with observing a train of      
unforeseen consequences as they arise4  
,a third principle1 which discovers     
itself in early childhood1 and which    
never entirely quits us1 is the love of 
power4 ,we wish to be assured that we   
are something1 and that we can produce  
notable effects upon other beings out of

 ourselves4 ,it is this principle1 which
 instigates a child to destroy his      
playthings1 and to torment and kill the 
animals around him4  ,but1 even         
independently of the laws of morality1  
and the fear of censure and retaliation 
from our fellow-creatures1 there are    
other things which would obviously      
restrain us from taking the challenger  
in the above supposition at his word4   
,if man were an omnipotent being1 and at
 the same time retained all his present 
mental infirmities1 it would be         
difficult to say of what extravagances  
he would be guilty4 ,it is proverbially 
affirmed that power has a tendency to   
corrupt the best dispositions4 ,then    
what would not omnipotence effect8  ,if1
 when ,i put an end to the life of a    
fellow-creature1 all vestiges of what ,i
 had done were to disappear1 this would 
take off a great part of the control    
upon my actions which at present        
subsists4 ,but1 as it is1 there are many
 consequences that give us pause4 ,i do 

not like to see his blood streaming on  
the ground4 ,i do not like to witness   
the spasms and convulsions of a dying   
man4 ,though wounded to the heart1 he   
may speak4 ,then what may be chance to  
say8 ,what looks of reproach may he cast
 upon me8 ,the musket may miss fire4 ,if
 ,i wound him1 the wound may be less    
mortal than ,i contemplated4 ,then what 
may ,i not have to fear8 ,his dead body 
will be an incumbrance to me4 ,it must  
be moved from the place where it lies4  
,it must be buried4 ,how is all this to 
be done by me8 ,by one precipitate act1 
,i have involved myself in a long train 
of loathsome and heart-sickening        
consequences4  ,if it should be said1   
that no one but a person of an abandoned
 character would fail1 when the scene   
was actually before him1 to feel an     
instant repugnance to the proposition1  
yet it will perhaps be admitted1 that   
almost every reader1 when he regards it 
as a supposition merely1 says to himself
 for a moment1 ,would ,i8 ,could ,i8    

,but1 to bring the irrationality of man 
more completely to the test1 let us     
change the supposition4 ,let us imagine 
him to be gifted with the powers of the 
fabled basilisk1 to monarchise1 be      
feared1 and kill with looks4 ,his       
present impulses1 his passions1 his     
modes of reasoning and choosing shall   
continue2 but his will is neighboured to
 his act2 whatever he has formed a      
conception of with preference1 is       
immediately realised2 his thought is    
succeeded by the effect2 and no traces  
are left behind1 by means of which a    
shadow of censure or suspicion can be   
reflected on him4  ,man is in truth a   
miracle4 ,the human mind is a creature  
of celestial origin1 shut up and        
confined in a wall of flesh4 ,we feel a 
kind of proud impatience of the         
degradation to which we are condemned4  
,we beat ourselves to pieces against the
 wires of our cage1 and long to escape1 
to shoot through the elements1 and be as
 free to change at any instant the place

 where we dwell1 as to change the       
subject to which our thoughts are       
applied4  ,this1 or something like this1
 seems to be the source of our most     
portentous follies and absurdities4     
,this is the original sin upon which    
,st4 ,austin and ,calvin descanted4     
,certain ,arabic writers seem to have   
had this in their minds1 when they tell 
us1 that there is a black drop of blood 
in the heart of every man1 in which is  
contained the fomes peccati1 and add    
that1 when ,mahomet was in the fourth   
year of his age1 the angel ,gabriel     
caught him up from among his            
playfellows1 and taking his heart from  
his bosom1 squeezed out of it this first
 principle of frailty1 in consequence of
 which he for ever after remained       
inaccessible to the weaknesses of other 
men7#f74      7#f7 ,life of ,mahomet1 by
 ,prideaux4   ,it is the observation of 
sir ,thomas ,browne3 ,man is a noble    
animal1 splendid in ashes1 and pompous  
in the grave4 ,one of the most          

remarkable examples of this is to be    
found in the pyramids of ,egypt4 ,they  
are generally considered as having been 
erected to be the tombs of the kings of 
that country4 ,they have no opening by  
which for the light of heaven to enter1 
and afford no means for the             
accommodation of living man4 ,an hundred
 thousand men are said to have been     
constantly employed in the building2 ten
 years to have been consumed in hewing  
and conveying the stones1 and twenty    
more in completing the edifice4 ,of the 
largest the base is a square1 and the   
sides are triangles1 gradually          
diminishing as they mount in the air4   
,the sides of the base are two hundred  
and twenty feet in length1 and the      
perpendicular height is above one       
hundred and fifty-five feet4 ,the figure
 of the pyramid is precisely that which 
is most calculated for duration3 it     
cannot perish by accident2 and it would 
require almost as much labour to        
demolish it1 as it did to raise it at   

first4  ,what a light does this fact    
convey into the inmost recesses of the  
human heart6 ,man reflects deeply1 and  
with feelings of a mortified nature1    
upon the perishableness of his frame1   
and the approaching close1 so far as    
depends upon the evidence of our senses1
 of his existence4 ,he has indeed an    
irrepressible longing after immortality2
 and this is one of the various and     
striking modes in which he has sought to
 give effect to his desire4  ,various   
obvious causes might be selected1 which 
should be calculated to give birth to   
the feeling of discontent4  ,one is1 the
 not being at home4  ,i will here put   
together some of the particulars which  
make up the idea of home in the most    
emphatical sense of the word4  ,home is 
the place where a man is principally at 
his ease4 ,it is the place where he most
 breathes his native air3 his lungs play
 without impediment2 and every          
respiration brings a pure element1 and a
 cheerful and gay frame of mind4 ,home  

is the place where he most easily       
accomplishes all his designs2 he has his
 furniture and materials and the        
elements of his occupations entirely    
within his reach4 ,home is the place    
where he can be uninterrupted4 ,he is in
 a castle which is his in full          
propriety4 ,no unwelcome guests can     
intrude2 no harsh sounds can disturb his
 contemplations2 he is the master1 and  
can command a silence equal to that of  
the tomb1 whenever he pleases4  ,in this
 sense every man feels1 while cribbed in
 a cabin of flesh1 and shut up by the   
capricious and arbitrary injunctions of 
human communities1 that he is not at    
home4  ,another cause of our discontent 
is to be traced to the disparity of the 
two parts of which we are composed1 the 
thinking principle1 and the body in     
which it acts4 ,the machine which       
constitutes the visible man1 bears no   
proportion to our thoughts1 our wishes  
and desires4 ,hence we are never        
satisfied2 we always feel the want of   

something we have not2 and this         
uneasiness is continually pushing us on 
to precipitate and abortive resolves4   
,i find in a book1 entitled1            
,illustrations of ,phrenology1 by ,sir  
,george ,mackenzie1 ,baronet1 the       
following remark4 ',if this portrait be 
correctly drawn1 the right side does not
 quite agree with the left in the region
 of ideality4 ,this dissimilarity may   
have produced something contradictory in
 the feelings of the person it          
represents1 which he may have felt      
extremely annoying7#g74' ,an observation
 of this sort may be urged with striking
 propriety as to the dissimilar         
attributes of the body and the thinking 
principle in man4       7#g7 ,the remark
 thus delivered is applied to the       
portrait of the author of the present   
volume4   ,it is perhaps thus that we   
are to account for a phenomenon1 in     
itself sufficiently obvious1 that our   
nature has within it a principle of     
boundless ambition1 a desire to be      

something that we are not1 a feeling    
that we are out of our place1 and ought 
to be where we are not4 ,this feeling   
produces in us quick and earnest sallies
 and goings forth of the mind1 a        
restlessness of soul1 and an aspiration 
after some object that we do not find   
ourselves able to chalk out and define4 
,hence comes the practice of            
castle-building1 and of engaging the    
soul in endless reveries and            
imaginations of something mysterious and
 unlike to what we behold in the scenes 
of sublunary life4 ,many writers1 having
 remarked this1 have endeavoured to     
explain it from the doctrine of a       
preexistent state1 and have said that1  
though we have no clear and distinct    
recollection of what happened to us     
previously to our being launched in our 
present condition1 yet we have certain  
broken and imperfect conceptions1 as if1
 when the tablet of the memory was      
cleared for the most part of the traces 
of what we had passed through in some   

other mode of being1 there were a few   
characters that had escaped the         
diligence of the hand by which the rest 
had been obliterated4  ,it is this that1
 in less enlightened ages of the world1 
led men to engage so much of their      
thoughts upon supposed existences1      
which1 though they might never become   
subject to our organs of vision1 were   
yet conceived to be perpetually near us1
 fairies1 ghosts1 witches1 demons and   
angels4 ,our ancestors often derived    
suggestions from these1 were informed of
 things beyond the ken of ordinary      
faculties1 were tempted to the          
commission of forbidden acts1 or        
encouraged to proceed in the paths of   
virtue4  ,the most remarkable of these  
phenomena was that of necromancy1       
sorcery and magic4 ,there were men who  
devoted themselves to curious arts1 and 
had books fraught with hidden knowledge4
 ,they could bedim         ,the         
noon-tide sun1 call forth the mutinous  
winds1      ,and 'twixt the green sea   

and the azured vault      ,set roaring  
war3  to the dread1 rattling thunder    
,they could give fire1 and rift even    
,jove's stout oak      ,with his own    
bolt--graves at their command      ,have
 waked their sleepers1 oped and let them
 forth4   ,and of these things the      
actors in them were so certain1 that    
many witches were led to the stake1     
their guilt being principally           
established on their own confessions4   
,but the most memorable matters in the  
history of the black art1 were the      
contracts which those who practised it  
not unfrequently entered into with the  
devil1 that he should assist them by his
 supernatural power for ten or twenty   
years1 and1 in consideration of this    
aid1 they consented to resign their     
souls into his possession1 when the     
period of the contract was expired4  ,in
 the animal creation there are some     
species that may be tamed1 and others   
whose wildness is irreclaimable4 ,horace
 says1 that all men are mad3 and no     

doubt mankind in general has one of the 
features of madness4 ,in the ordinary   
current of our existence we are to a    
considerable degree rational and        
tractable4 ,but we are not altogether   
safe4 ,i may converse with a maniac for 
hours2 he shall talk as soberly1 and    
conduct himself with as much propriety1 
as any other of the species who has     
never been afflicted with his disease2  
but touch upon a particular string1 and1
 before you are aware of it1 he shall   
fly out into the wildest and most       
terrifying extravagances4 ,such1 though 
in a greatly inferior degree1 are the   
majority of human beings4  ,the original
 impulse of man is uncontrolableness4   
,when the spirit of life first descends 
upon us1 we desire and attempt to be as 
free as air4 ,we are impatient of       
restraint4 ,this is the period of the   
empire of will4 ,there is a power within
 us that wars against the restraint of  
another4 ,we are eager to follow our own
 impulses and caprices1 and are with    

difficulty subjected to those who       
believe they best know how to control   
inexperienced youth in a way that shall 
tend to his ultimate advantage4  ,the   
most moderate and auspicious method in  
which the old may endeavour to guide and
 control the pursuits of the young1     
undoubtedly is by the conviction of the 
understanding4 ,but this is not always  
easy4 ,it is not at all times           
practicable fully to explain to the     
apprehension of a very young person the 
advantage1 which at a period a little   
more advanced he would be able clearly  
to recognise4  ,there is a further evil 
appertaining to this view of the        
subject4  ,a young man even1 in the     
early season of life1 is not always     
disposed to obey the convictions of his 
understanding4 ,he has prescribed to    
himself a task which returns with the   
returning day2 but he is often not      
disposed to apply4 ,the very sense that 
it is what he conceives to be an        
incumbent duty1 inspires him with       

reluctance4  ,an obvious source of this 
reluctance is1 that the convictions of  
our understanding are not always equally
 present to us4 ,i have entered into a  
deduction of premises1 and arrived at a 
conclusion2 but some of the steps of the
 chain are scarcely obvious to me1 at   
the time that ,i am called upon to act  
upon the conclusion ,i have drawn4      
,beside which1 there was a freshness in 
the first conception of the reasons on  
which my conduct was to be framed1      
which1 by successive rehearsals1 and by 
process of time1 is no longer in any    
degree spirit-stirring and pregnant4    
,this restiveness and impracticability  
are principally incident to us in the   
period of youth4 ,by degrees the        
novelties of life wear out1 and we      
become sober4 ,we are like soldiers at  
drill1 and in a review4 ,at first we    
perform our exercise from necessity1 and
 with an ill grace4 ,we had rather be   
doing almost any thing else4  ,by       
degrees we are reconciled to our        

occupation4 ,we are like horses in a    
manege1 or oxen or dogs taught to draw  
the plough1 or be harnessed to a        
carriage4 ,our stubbornness is subdued2 
we no longer exhaust our strength in    
vain efforts to free ourselves from the 
yoke4  ,conviction at first is strong4  
,having arrived at years of discretion1 
,i revolve with a sobered mind the      
different occupations to which my       
efforts and my time may be devoted1 and 
determine at length upon that which     
under all the circumstances displays the
 most cogent recommendations4 ,having   
done so1 ,i rouse my faculties and      
direct my energies to the performance of
 my task4 ,by degrees however my        
resolution grows less vigorous1 and my  
exertions relax4 ,i accept any pretence 
to be let off1 and fly into a thousand  
episodes and eccentricities4  ,but1 as  
the newness of life subsides1 the power 
of temptation becomes less4 ,that       
conviction1 which was at first strong1  
and gradually became fainter and less   

impressive1 is made by incessant        
repetitions a part of my nature4 ,i no  
more think of doubting its truth1 than  
of my own existence4 ,practice has      
rendered the pursuits that engage me    
more easy1 till at length ,i grow       
disturbed and uncomfortable if ,i am    
withheld from them4 ,they are like my   
daily bread4 ,if they are not afforded  
me1 ,i grow sick and attenuated1 and my 
life verges to a close4 ,the sun is not 
surer to rise1 than ,i am to feel the   
want of my stated employment4  ,it is   
the business of education to tame the   
wild ass1 the restive and rebellious    
principle1 in our nature4 ,the judicious
 parent or instructor essays a thousand 
methods to accomplish his end4 ,the     
considerate elder tempts the child with 
inticements and caresses1 that he may   
win his attention to the first rudiments
 of learning4  ,he sets before him1 as  
he grows older1 all the considerations  
and reasons he can devise1 to make him  
apprehend the advantage of improvement  

and literature4 ,he does his utmost to  
make his progress easy1 and to remove   
all impediments4 ,he smooths the path by
 which he is to proceed1 and endeavours 
to root out all its thorns4 ,he exerts  
his eloquence to inspire his pupil with 
a love for the studies in which he is   
engaged4 ,he opens to him the beauties  
and genius of the authors he reads1 and 
endeavours to proceed with him hand in  
hand1 and step by step4 ,he persuades1  
he exhorts1 and occasionally he         
reproves4 ,he awakens in him the love of
 excellence1 the fear of disgrace1 and  
an ambition to accomplish that which the
 excellent of the earth accomplished    
before him4  ,at a certain period the   
young man is delivered into his own     
hands1 and becomes an instructor to     
himself4 ,and1 if he is blessed with an 
ingenuous disposition1 he will enter on 
his task with an earnest desire and a   
devoted spirit4 ,no person of a sober   
and enlarged mind can for a moment      
delude himself into the opinion that1   

when he is delivered into his own hands1
 his education is ended4 ,in a sense to 
which no one is a stranger1 the         
education of man and his life terminate 
together4 ,we should at no period of our
 existence be backward to receive       
information1 and should at all times    
preserve our minds open to conviction4  
,we should through every day of our     
lives seek to add to the stores of our  
knowledge and refinement4 ,but1         
independently of this more extended     
sense of the word1 a great portion of   
the education of the young man is left  
to the direction of the man himself4    
,the epoch of entire liberty is a       
dangerous period1 and calls upon him for
 all his discretion1 that he may not    
make an ill use of that1 which is in    
itself perhaps the first of sublunary   
blessings4 ,the season of puberty also1 
and all the excitements from this       
source1 that flesh is heir to1 demand   
the utmost vigilance and the strictest  
restraint4 ,in a word1 if we would      

counteract the innate rebelliousness of 
man1 that indocility of mind which is at
 all times at hand to plunge us into    
folly1 we must never slumber at our     
post1 but govern ourselves with steady  
severity1 and by the dictates of an     
enlightened understanding4 ,we must be  
like a skilful pilot in a perilous sea1 
and be thoroughly aware of all the rocks
 and quicksands1 and the multiplied and 
hourly dangers that beset our           
navigation4  ,in this ,essay ,i have    
treated of nothing more than the        
inherent restiveness and indocility of  
man1 which accompany him at least       
through all the earlier sections and    
divisions of his life4 ,i have not      
treated of those temptations calculated 
to lead him into a thousand excesses and
 miseries1 which originate in our lower 
nature1 and are connected with what we  
call the passion of love4 ,nor have ,i  
entered upon the still more copious     
chapter1 of the incentives and          
provocations which are administered to  

us by those wants which at all times    
beset us as living creatures1 and by the
 unequal distribution of property       
generally in civil society4 ,i have not 
considered those attributes of man which
 may serve indifferently for good or for
 ill1 as he may happen to be or not to  
be the subject of those fiercer         
excitements1 that will oft times corrupt
 the most ingenuous nature1 and have a  
tendency to inspire into us subtle      
schemes and a deep contrivance4 ,i have 
confined myself to the consideration of 
man1 as yet untamed to the modes of     
civilised community1 and unbroken to the
 steps which are not only prescribed by 
the interests of our social existence1  
but which are even in some degree       
indispensible to the improvement and    
welfare of the individual4 ,i have      
considered him1 not as he is often acted
 upon by causes and motives which seem  
almost to compel him to vice1 but merely
 as he is restless1 and impatient1 and  
disdainful both of the control of       

others1 and the shackles of system4     
,for the same reason ,i have not taken  
notice of another species of            
irrationality1 and which seems to answer
 more exactly to the ,arabic notion of  
the fomes peccati1 the black drop of    
blood at the bottom of the heart4 ,we   
act from motives apprehended by the     
judgment2 but we do not stop at them4   
,once set in motion1 it will not seldom 
happen that we proceed beyond our       
original mark4 ,we are like ,othello in 
the play3        ,our blood begins our  
safer guides to rule2      ,and passion1
 having our best judgment quelled1      
,assays to lead the way4   ,this is the 
explanation of the greatest enormities  
that have been perpetrated by man1 and  
the inhuman deeds of ,nero and          
,caligula4 ,we proceed from bad to      
worse4 ,the reins of our discretion drop
 from our hands4 ,it fortunately happens
 however1 that we do not in the majority
 of cases1 like ,phaeton in the fable1  
set the world on fire2 but that1 with   

ordinary men1 the fiercest excesses of  
passion extend to no greater distance   
than can be reached by the sound of     
their voice4     ,,essay ,,vi4 ,,of     
,,human ,,innocence4  ,one of the most  
obvious views which are presented to us 
by man in society is the inoffensiveness
 and innocence that ordinarily          
characterise him4  ,society for the     
greater part carries on its own         
organization4 ,each man pursues his     
proper occupation1 and there are few    
individuals that feel the propensity to 
interrupt the pursuits of their         
neighbours by personal violence4 ,when  
we observe the quiet manner in which the
 inhabitants of a great city1 and1 in   
the country1 the frequenters of the     
fields1 the high roads1 and the heaths1 
pass along1 each engrossed by his       
private contemplations1 feeling no      
disposition to molest the strangers he  
encounters1 but on the contrary prepared
 to afford them every courteous         
assistance1 we cannot in equity do less 

than admire the innocence of our        
species1 and fancy that1 like the       
patriarchs of old1 we have fallen in    
with angels unawares4  ,there are a few 
men in every community1 that are sons of
 riot and plunder1 and for the sake of  
these the satirical and censorious throw
 a general slur and aspersion upon the  
whole species4  ,when we look at human  
society with kind and complacent survey1
 we are more than half tempted to       
imagine that men might subsist very well
 in clusters and congregated bodies     
without the coercion of law2 and in     
truth criminal laws were only made to   
prevent the ill-disposed few from       
interrupting the regular and inoffensive
 proceedings of the vast majority4      
,from what disposition in human nature  
is it that all this accommodation and   
concurrence proceed8  ,it is not        
primarily love4 ,we feel in a very      
slight degree excited to good will      
towards the stranger whom we            
accidentally light upon in our path4    

,neither is it fear4  ,it is principally
 forecast and prudence4 ,we have a      
sensitiveness1 that forbids us for a    
slight cause to expose ourselves to we  
know not what4 ,we are unwilling to be  
disturbed4  ,we have a mental vis       
inertiae1 analogous to that quality in  
material substances1 by means of which1 
being at rest1 they resist being put    
into a state of motion4 ,we love our    
security2 we love our respectability2   
and both of these may be put to hazard  
by our rashly and unadvisedly thrusting 
ourselves upon the course of another4   
,we like to act for ourselves4 ,we like 
to act with others1 when we think we can
 foresee the way in which the proposed  
transaction will proceed1 and that it   
will proceed to our wish4  ,let us put  
the case1 that ,i am passing along the  
highway1 destitute and pennyless1 and   
without foresight of any means by which 
,i am to procure the next meal that my  
nature requires4  ,the vagrant1 who     
revolves in his mind the thought of     

extorting from another the supply of    
which he is urgently in need1 surveys   
the person upon whom he meditates this  
violence with a scrutinising eye4 ,he   
considers1 ,will this man submit to my  
summons without resistance1 or in what  
manner will he repel my trespass8 ,he   
watches his eye1 he measures his limbs1 
his strength1 and his agility4 ,though  
they have met in the deserts of ,africa1
 where there is no law to punish the    
violator1 he knows that he exposes      
himself to a fearful hazard2 and he     
enters upon his purpose with desperate  
resolve4 ,all this and more must occur  
to the man of violence1 within the pale 
of a civilised community4  ,begging is  
the mildest form in which a man can     
obtain from the stranger he meets1 the  
means of supplying his urgent           
necessities4  ,but1 even here1 the      
beggar knows that he exposes himself not
 only to refusal1 but to the harsh and  
opprobrious terms in which that refusal 
may be conveyed4 ,in this city there are

 laws against begging2 and the man that 
asks alms of me1 is an offender against 
the state4 ,in country-towns it is usual
 to remark a notice upon entering1 to   
say1 ,whoever shall be found begging in 
this place1 shall be set in the stocks4 
,there are modes however in which ,i may
 accost a stranger1 with small          
apprehension that ,i shall be made to   
repent of it4 ,i may enquire of him my  
way to the place towards which my       
business or my pleasure invites me4     
,ennius of old has observed1 that lumen 
de lumine1 to light my candle at my     
neighbour's lamp1 is one of the         
privileges that the practices of civil  
society concede4  ,but it is not merely 
from forecast and prudence that we      
refrain from interrupting the stranger  
in his way4 ,we have all of us a certain
 degree of kindness for a being of our  
own species4 ,a multitude of men feel   
this kindness for every thing that has  
animal life4 ,we would not willingly    
molest the stranger who has done us no  

injury4 ,on the contrary we would all of
 us to a certain extent assist him1     
under any unforeseen casualty and       
tribulation4 ,a part therefore of the   
innocence that characterises our species
 is to be attributed to philanthropy4   
,childhood is diffident4 ,children for  
the most part are averse to the         
addressing themselves to strangers1     
unless in cases where1 from the mere    
want of anticipation and reflection1    
they proceed as if they were wholly     
without the faculty of making           
calculations and deducing conclusions4  
,the child neither knows himself nor the
 stranger he meets in his path4 ,he has 
not measured either the one or the      
other4 ,he does not know what the       
stranger may be able1 or may likely be  
prompted to do to him1 nor what are his 
own means of defence or escape4 ,he     
takes refuge therefore in a wary1       
sometimes an obstinate silence4 ,it is  
for this reason that a boy at school    
often appears duller and more inept1    

than would be the amount of a fair      
proportion to what he is found to be    
when grown up to a man4  ,as we improve 
in judgment and strength1 we know better
 ourselves and others1 and in a majority
 of instances take our due place in the 
ranks of society4 ,we acquire a modest  
and cautious firmness1 yield what       
belongs to another1 and assert what is  
due to ourselves4 ,to the last however1 
we for the most part retain the         
inoffensiveness described in the        
beginning of this ,essay4  ,how comes it
 then that our nature labours under so  
bitter an aspersion8 ,we have been      
described as cunning1 malicious and     
treacherous4 ,other animals herd        
together for mutual convenience2 and    
their intercourse with their species is 
for the most part a reciprocation of    
social feeling and kindness4 ,but       
community among men1 we are told1 is    
that condition of human existence1 which
 brings out all our evil qualities to   
the face of day4 ,we lie in wait for1   

and circumvent each other by multiplied 
artifices4 ,we cannot depend upon each  
other for the truth of what is stated to
 us2 and promises and the most solemn   
engagements often seem as if they were  
made only to mislead4 ,we are violent   
and deadly in our animosities1 easily   
worked up to ferocity1 and satisfied    
with scarcely any thing short of        
mutilation and blood4 ,we are           
revengeful3 we lay up an injury1 real or
 imaginary1 in the store-house of an    
undecaying memory1 waiting only till we 
can repay the evil we have sustained    
tenfold1 at a time when our adversary   
shall be lulled in unsuspecting         
security4 ,we are rapacious1 with no    
symptom that the appetite for gain      
within us will ever be appeased2 and we 
practise a thousand deceits1 that it may
 be the sooner1 and to the greater      
degree glutted4 ,the ambition of man is 
unbounded2 and he hesitates at no means 
in the course it prompts him to pursue4 
,in short1 man is to man ever the most  

fearful and dangerous foe3 and it is in 
this view of his nature that the king of
 ,brobdingnag says to ,gulliver1 ,i     
cannot but conclude the bulk of your    
race to be the most pernicious          
generation of little1 odious vermin1    
that were ever suffered to crawl upon   
the surface of the earth4 ,the          
comprehensive faculties of man          
therefore1 and the refinements and      
subtlety of his intellect1 serve only to
 render him the more formidable         
companion1 and to hold us up as a       
species to merited condemnation4  ,it is
 obvious however that the picture thus  
drawn is greatly overcharged1 that it   
describes a very small part of our race1
 and that even as to them it sets before
 us a few features only1 and a partial  
representation4  ,history--the          
successive scenes of the drama in which 
individuals play their part--is a       
labyrinth1 of which no man has as yet   
exactly seized the clue4  ,it has long  
since been observed1 that the history of

 the four great monarchies1 of tyrannies
 and free states1 of chivalry and       
clanship1 of ,mahometanism and the      
,christian church1 of the balance of    
,europe and the revolution of empires1  
is little else than a tissue of crimes1 
exhibiting nations as if they were so   
many herds of ferocious animals1 whose  
genuine occupation was to tear each     
other to pieces1 and to deform their    
mother-earth with mangled carcases and  
seas of blood4  ,but it is not just that
 we should establish our opinion of     
human nature purely from the records of 
history4 ,man is alternately devoted to 
tranquillity and to violence4 ,but the  
latter only affords the proper materials
 of narration4 ,when he is wrought upon 
by some powerful impulse1 our curiosity 
is most roused to observe him4 ,we      
remark his emotions1 his energies1 his  
tempest4 ,it is then that he becomes the
 person of a drama4 ,and1 where this    
disquietude is not the affair of a      
single individual1 but of several       

persons together1 of nations1 it is     
there that history finds her harvest4   
,she goes into the field with all the   
implements of her industry1 and fills   
her storehouses and magazines with the  
abundance of her crop4 ,but times of    
tranquillity and peace furnish her with 
no materials4 ,they are dismissed in a  
few slight sentences1 and leave no      
memory behind4  ,let us divide this     
spacious earth into equal compartments1 
and see in which violence1 and in which 
tranquillity prevails4 ,let us look     
through the various ranks and           
occupations of human society1 and       
endeavour to arrive at a conclusion of a
 similar sort4 ,the soldier by          
occupation1 and the officer who commands
 him1 would seem1 when they are employed
 in their express functions1 to be men  
of strife4 ,kings and ministers of state
 have in a multitude of instances fallen
 under this description4 ,conquerors1   
the firebrands of the earth1 have       
sufficiently displayed their noxious    

propensities4  ,but these are but a     
small part of the tenantry of the       
many-peopled globe4 ,man lives by the   
sweat of his brow4 ,the teeming earth is
 given him1 that by his labour he may   
raise from it the means of his          
subsistence4 ,agriculture is1 at least  
among civilised nations1 the first1 and 
certainly the most indispensible of     
professions4 ,the profession itself is  
the emblem of peace4 ,all its           
occupations1 from seed-time to harvest1 
are tranquil2 and there is nothing which
 belongs to it1 that can obviously be   
applied to rouse the angry passions1 and
 place men in a frame of hostility to   
each other4 ,next to the cultivator1    
come the manufacturer1 the artificer1   
the carpenter1 the mason1 the joiner1   
the cabinet-maker1 all those numerous   
classes of persons1 who are employed in 
forming garments for us to wear1 houses 
to live in1 and moveables and           
instruments for the accommodation of the
 species4 ,all these persons are1 of    

necessity1 of a peaceable demeanour4 ,so
 are those who are not employed in      
producing the conveniencies of life1 but
 in conducting the affairs of barter and
 exchange4 ,add to these1 such as are   
engaged in literature1 either in the    
study of what has already been produced1
 or in adding to the stock1 in science  
or the liberal arts1 in the instructing 
mankind in religion and their duties1 or
 in the education of youth4 ,civility1  
civil1 are indeed terms which express a 
state of peaceable occupation1 in       
opposition to what is military1 and     
imply a tranquil frame of mind1 and the 
absence of contention1 uproar and       
violence4 ,it is therefore clear1 that  
the majority of mankind are civil1      
devoted to the arts of peace1 and so far
 as relates to acts of violence         
innocent1 and that the sons of rapine   
constitute the exception to the general 
character4  ,we come into the world     
under a hard and unpalatable law1 ,in   
the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat    

bread4 ,it is a bitter decree that is   
promulgated against us1 ,he that will   
not work1 neither shall he eat4 ,we all 
of us love to do our own will1 and to be
 free from the manacles of restraint4   
,what our hearts find us to do1 that we 
are disposed to execute with all our    
might4 ,some men are lovers of strenuous
 occupation4 ,they build and they plant2
 they raise splendid edifices1 and lay  
out pleasure-grounds of mighty extent4  
,or they devote their minds to the      
acquisition of knowledge2 they          
----outwatch the bear1      ,with thrice
 great ,hermes1 or unsphere      ,the   
spirit of ,plato1 to unfold      ,what  
worlds1 or what vast regions hold       
,the immortal mind4  ,others again would
 waste perhaps their whole lives in     
reverie and idleness4 ,they are         
constituted of materials so kindly and  
serene1 that their spirits never flag   
from want of occupation and external    
excitement4 ,they could lie for ever on 
a sunny bank1 in a condition divided    

between thinking and no thinking1       
refreshed by the fanning breeze1 viewing
 the undulations of the soil1 and the   
rippling of the brook1 admiring the     
azure heavens1 and the vast1 the bold1  
and the sublime figure of the clouds1   
yielding themselves occasionally to     
thick-coming fancies1 and day-dreams1   
and the endless romances of an          
undisciplined mind2       ,and find no  
end1 in wandering mazes lost4  ,but all 
men1 alike the busy of constitution and 
the idle1 would desire to follow the    
impulses of their own minds1 unbroken in
 upon by harsh necessity1 or the        
imperious commands of their fellows4    
,we cannot however1 by the resistless   
law of our existence1 live1 except the  
few who by the accident of their birth  
are privileged to draw their supplies   
from the labour of others1 without      
exerting ourselves to procure by our    
efforts or ingenuity the necessaries of 
food1 lodging and attire4 ,he that would
 obtain them for himself in an          

uninhabited island1 would find that this
 amounted to a severe tax upon that     
freedom of motion and thought which     
would otherwise be his inheritance4 ,and
 he who has his lot cast in a populous  
community1 exists in a condition        
somewhat analogous to that of a negro   
slave1 except that he may to a limited  
extent select the occupation to which he
 shall addict himself1 or may at least  
starve1 in part or in whole1            
uncontroled1 and at his choice4 ,such   
is1 as it were1 the universal lot4      
',tis destiny unshunnable like death3   
,even then this dire necessity falls on 
us1       ,when we do quicken4   ,i go  
forth in the streets1 and observe the   
occupations of other men4 ,i remark the 
shops that on every side beset my path4 
,it is curious and striking1 how vast   
are the ingenuity and contrivance of    
human beings1 to wring from their       
fellow-creatures1 from the hard hands of
 peasants and artisans1 a part of their 
earnings1 that they also may live4 ,we  

soon become feelingly convinced1 that we
 also must enter into the vast          
procession of industry1 upon pain that  
otherwise1       ,like to an entered    
tide1 they all rush by1      ,and leave 
you hindmost3  there you lie1      ,for 
pavement to the abject rear1 o'errun    
,and trampled on4   ,it is through the  
effect of this necessity1 that civilised
 communities become what they are4 ,we  
all fall into our ranks4 ,each one is   
member of a certain company or squadron4
 ,we know our respective places1 and are
 marshaled and disciplined with an      
exactness scarcely less than that of the
 individuals of a mighty army4 ,we are  
therefore little disposed to interrupt  
the occupations of each other4 ,we are  
intent upon the peculiar employment to  
which we have become devoted4 ,we rise  
up early1 and lie down late1 and have no
 leisure to trouble ourselves with the  
pursuits of others4 ,hence of necessity 
it happens in a civilised community1    
that a vast majority of the species are 

innocent1 and have no inclination to    
molest or interrupt each other's        
avocations4  ,but1 as this condition of 
human society preserves us in           
comparative innocence1 and renders the  
social arrangement in the midst of which
 we exist1 to a certain degree a        
soothing and agreeable spectacle1 so on 
the other hand it is not less true that 
its immediate tendency is1 to clip the  
wings of the thinking principle within  
us1 and plunge the members of the       
community in which we live into a barren
 and ungratifying mediocrity4 ,hence it 
should be the aim of those persons1 who 
from their situation have more or less  
the means of looking through the vast   
assemblage of their countrymen1 of      
penetrating into the seeds of character1
 and determining which grain will grow1 
and which will not1 to apply themselves 
to the redeeming such as are worthy of  
their care from the oblivious gulph into
 which the mass of the species is of    
necessity plunged4 ,it is therefore an  

ill saying1 when applied in the most    
rigorous extent1 ,let every man maintain
 himself1 and be his own provider3 why  
should we help him8  ,the help however  
that we should afford to our fellow-men 
requires of us great discernment in its 
administration4 ,the deceitfulness of   
appearances is endless4 ,and nothing can
 well be at the same time more          
lamentable and more ludicrous1 than the 
spectacle of those persons1 the weaver1 
the thresher1 and the mechanic1 who by  
injudicious patronage are drawn from    
their proper sphere1 only to exhibit    
upon a larger stage their imbecility and
 inanity1 to shew those moderate powers1
 which in their proper application would
 have carried their possessors through  
life with respect1 distorted into       
absurdity1 and used in the attempt to   
make us look upon a dwarf1 as if he were
 one of the ,titans who in the          
commencement of recorded time astonished
 the earth4  ,it is also true to a great
 degree1 that those efforts of the human

 mind are most healthful and vigorous1  
in which the possessor of talents       
administers to himself1 and contends    
with the different obstacles that arise1
                 --------throwing them  
aside1               ,and stemming them 
with hearts of controversy4   ,many     
illustrious examples however may be     
found in the annals of literature1 of   
patronage judiciously and generously    
applied1 where men have been raised by  
the kindness of others from the         
obscurest situations1 and placed on     
high1 like beacons1 to illuminate the   
world4 ,and1 independently of all       
examples1 a sound application of the    
common sense of the human mind would    
teach us1 that the worthies of the      
earth1 though miracles1 are not         
omnipotent1 and that a certain aid1 from
 those who by counsel or opulence are   
enabled to afford it1 have oft times    
produced the noblest effects1 have      
carried on the generous impulse that    
works within us1 and prompted us        

manfully to proceed1 when the weakness  
of our nature was ready to give in from 
despair4  ,but the thing that in this   
place it was most appropriate to say1   
is1 that we ought not quietly to affirm1
 of the man whose mind nature or        
education has enriched with             
extraordinary powers1 ,let him maintain 
himself1 and be his own provider3 why   
should we help him8 ,it is a thing      
deeply to be regretted1 that such a man 
will frequently be compelled to devote  
himself to pursuits comparatively vulgar
 and inglorious1 because he must live4  
,much of this is certainly inevitable4  
,but what glorious things might a man   
with extraordinary powers effect1 were  
he not hurried unnumbered miles awry by 
the unconquerable power of              
circumstances8 ,the life of such a man  
is divided between the things which his 
internal monitor strongly prompts him to
 do1 and those which the external power 
of nature and circumstances compels him 
to submit to4 ,the struggle on the part 

of his better self is noble and         
admirable4 ,the less he gives way1      
provided he can accomplish the purpose  
to which he has vowed himself1 the more 
he is worthy of the admiration of the   
world4 ,if1 in consequence of listening 
too much to the loftier aspirations of  
his nature1 he fails1 it is deeply to be
 regretted--it is a man to a certain    
degree lost--but surely1 if his         
miscarriage be not caused by undue      
presumption1 or the clouds and          
unhealthful atmosphere of self-conceit1 
he is entitled to the affectionate      
sympathy and sorrow of every generous   
mind4     ,,essay ,,vii4 ,,of ,,the     
,,duration ,,of ,,human ,,life4  ,the   
active and industrious portion of the   
human species in civilised countries1 is
 composed of those who are occupied in  
the labour of the hand1 and in the      
labour of the head4  ,the following     
remarks expressly apply only to the     
latter of these classes1 principally to 
such as are occupied in productive      

literature4 ,they may however have their
 use to all persons a considerable      
portion of whose time is employed in    
study and contemplation1 as1 if well    
founded1 they will form no unimportant  
chapter in the science of the human     
mind4  ,in relation to all the members  
of the second class then1 ,i should say1
 that human life is made up of term and 
vacation1 in other words1 of hours that 
may be intellectually employed1 and of  
hours that cannot be so employed4       
,human life consists of years1 months   
and days3 each day contains twenty-four 
hours4 ,of these hours how many belong  
to the province of intellect8  ,there   
is1 as ,solomon says1 a time for all    
things4 ,there must be a time for sleep1
 a time for recreation1 a time for      
exercise1 a time for supplying the      
machine with nourishment1 and a time for
 digestion4 ,when all these demands have
 been supplied1 how many hours will be  
left for intellectual occupation8       
,these remarks1 as ,i have said1 are    

intended principally to apply to the    
subject of productive literature4 ,now1 
of the hours that remain when all the   
necessary demands of human life have    
been supplied1 it is but a portion1     
perhaps a small portion1 that can be    
beneficially1 judiciously1 employed in  
productive literature1 or literary      
composition4  ,it is true1 that there   
are many men who will occupy eight1 ten1
 or twelve hours in a day1 in the labour
 of composition4 ,but it may be doubted 
whether they are wisely so occupied4    
,it is the duty of an author1 inasmuch  
as he is an author1 to consider1 that he
 is to employ his pen in putting down   
that which shall be fit for other men to
 read4 ,he is not writing a letter of   
business1 a letter of amusement1 or a   
letter of sentiment1 to his private     
friend4 ,he is writing that which shall 
be perused by as many men as can be     
prevailed on to become his readers4 ,if 
he is an author of spirit and ambition1 
he wishes his productions to be read1   

not only by the idle1 but by the busy1  
by those who cannot spare time to peruse
 them but at the expence of some        
occupations which ought not to be       
suspended without an adequate occasion4 
,he wishes to be read not only by the   
frivolous and the lounger1 but by the   
wise1 the elegant1 and the fair1 by     
those who are qualified to appreciate   
the merit of a work1 who are endowed    
with a quick sensibility and a          
discriminating taste1 and are able to   
pass a sound judgment on its beauties   
and defects4 ,he advances his claim to  
permanent honours1 and desires that his 
lucubrations should be considered by    
generations yet unborn4  ,a person1 so  
occupied1 and with such aims1 must not  
attempt to pass his crudities upon the  
public4 ,if ,i may parody a celebrated  
aphorism of ,quintilian1 ,i would say1  
,magna debetur hominibus reverentia7#h73
 in other words1 we should carefully    
examine what it is that we propose to   
deliver in a permanent form to the taste

 and understanding of our species4 ,an  
author ought only to commit to the press
 the first fruits of his field1 his best
 and choicest thoughts4 ,he ought not to
 take up the pen1 till he has brought   
his mind into a fitting tone1 and ought 
to lay it down1 the instant his         
intellect becomes in any degree clouded1
 and his vital spirits abate of their   
elasticity4      7#h7 ,mankind is to be 
considered with reverence4   ,there are 
extraordinary cases4 ,a man may have so 
thoroughly prepared himself by long     
meditation and study1 he may have his   
mind so charged with an abundance of    
thought1 that it may employ him for ten 
or twelve hours consecutively1 merely to
 put down or to unravel the conceptions 
already matured in his soul4 ,it was in 
some such way1 that ,dryden1 we are     
told1 occupied a whole night1 and to a  
late hour in the next morning1 in       
penning his ,alexander's ,feast4 ,but   
these are the exceptions4 ,in most      
instances two or three hours are as much

 as an author can spend at a time in    
delivering the first fruits of his      
field1 his choicest thoughts1 before his
 intellect becomes in some degree       
clouded1 and his vital spirits abate of 
their elasticity4  ,nor is this all4 ,he
 might go on perhaps for some time      
longer with a reasonable degree of      
clearness4 ,but the fertility which     
ought to be his boast1 is exhausted4 ,he
 no longer sports in the meadows of     
thought1 or revels in the exuberance of 
imagination1 but becomes barren and     
unsatisfactory4 ,repose is necessary1   
and that the soil should be refreshed   
with the dews of another evening1 the   
sleep of a night1 and the freshness and 
revivifying influence of another        
morning4  ,these observations lead1 by a
 natural transition1 to the question of 
the true estimate and value of human    
life1 considered as the means of the    
operations of intellect4  ,a primary    
enquiry under this head is as to the    
duration of life3 ,is it long1 or short8

  ,the instant this question is         
proposed1 ,i hear myself replied to from
 all quarters3 ,what is there so well   
known as the brevity of human life8     
,life is but a span4 ,it is as a tale   
that is told4 ,man cometh forth like a  
flower1 and is cut down3 he fleeth also 
as a shadow1 and continueth not4 ,we are
 as a sleep2 or as grass3 in the morning
 it flourisheth1 and groweth up2 in the 
evening it is cut down1 and withereth4  
,the foundation of this sentiment is    
obvious4 ,men do not live for ever4 ,the
 longest duration of human existence has
 an end3 and whatever it is of which    
that may be affirmed1 may in some sense 
be pronounced to be short4 ,the         
estimation of our existence depends upon
 the point of view from which we behold 
it4 ,hope is one of our greatest        
enjoyments4 ,possession is something4   
,but the past is as nothing4 ,remorse   
may give it a certain solidity2 the     
recollection of a life spent in acts of 
virtue may be refreshing4 ,but fruition1

 and honours1 and fame1 and even pain1  
and privations1 and torment1 when they  
ere departed1 are but like a feather2 we
 regard them as of no account4 ,taken in
 this sense1 ,dryden's celebrated verses
 are but a maniac's rant3               
,to-morrow1 do thy worst1 for ,i have   
lived to-day3          ,be fair1 or     
foul1 or rain1 or shine1      ,the joys 
,i have possessed1 in spite of fate are 
mine4         ,not heaven itself upon   
the past has power1      ,but what has  
been has been1 and ,i have had my hour4 
,but this way of removing the picture of
 human life to a certain distance from  
us1 and considering those things which  
were once in a high degree interesting  
as frivolous and unworthy of regard1 is 
not the way by which we shall arrive at 
a true and just estimation of life4     
,whatever is now past1 and is of little 
value1 was once present3 and he who     
would form a sound judgment1 must look  
upon every part of our lives as present 
in its turn1 and not suffer his opinion 

to be warped by the consideration of the
 nearness or remoteness of the object he
 contemplates4  ,one sentence1 which has
 grown into a maxim for ever repeated1  
is remarkable for the grossest fallacy3 
,ars longa1 vita brevis7#i74 ,i would   
fain know1 what art1 compared with the  
natural duration of human life from     
puberty to old age1 is long4      7#i7  
,art is long2 life is short4   ,if it is
 intended to say1 that no one man can be
 expected to master all possible arts1  
or all arts that have at one time or    
another been the subject of human       
industry1 this indeed is true4 ,but the 
cause of this does not lie in the       
limited duration of human life1 but in  
the nature of the faculties of the mind4
 ,human understanding and human industry
 cannot embrace every thing4 ,when we   
take hold of one thing1 we must let go  
another4 ,science and art1 if we would  
pursue them to the furthest extent of   
which we are capable1 must be pursued   
without interruption4 ,it would         

therefore be more to the purpose to say1
 ,man cannot be for ever young4 ,in the 
stream of human existence1 different    
things have their appropriate period4   
,the knowledge of languages can perhaps 
be most effectually acquired in the     
season of nonage4  ,at riper years one  
man devotes himself to one science or   
art1 and another man to another4 ,this  
man is a mathematician2 a second studies
 music2 a third painting4 ,this man is a
 logician2 and that man an orator4 ,the 
same person cannot be expected to excel 
in the abstruseness of metaphysical     
science1 and in the ravishing effusions 
of poetical genius4 ,when a man1 who has
 arrived at great excellence in one     
department of art or science1 would     
engage himself in another1 he will be   
apt to find the freshness of his mind   
gone1 and his faculties no longer       
distinguished by the same degree of     
tenacity and vigour that they formerly  
displayed4 ,it is with the organs of the
 brain1 as it is with the organs of     

speech1 in the latter of which we find  
the tender fibres of the child easily   
accommodating themselves to the minuter 
inflections and variations of sound1    
which the more rigid muscles of the     
adult will for the most part attempt in 
vain4  ,if again1 by the maxim1 ,ars    
longa1 vita brevis1 it is intended to   
signify1 that we cannot in any art      
arrive at perfection2 that in reality   
all the progress we can make is         
insignificant2 and that1 as ,st4 ,paul  
says1 we must not count ourselves to    
have already attained2 but that1        
forgetting the things that are behind1  
it becomes us to press forward to the   
prize of our calling1--this also is     
true4 ,but this is only ascribable to   
the limitation of our faculties1 and    
that even the shadow of perfection which
 man is capable to reach1 can only be   
attained by the labour of successive    
generations4 ,the cause does not lie in 
the shortness of human life1 unless we  
would include in its protracted duration

 the privilege of being for ever young2 
to which we ought perhaps to add1 that  
our activity should never be exhausted1 
the freshness of our minds never abate1 
and our faculties for ever retain the   
same degree of tenacity and vigour1 as  
they had in the morning of life1 when   
every thing was new1 when all that      
allured or delighted us was seen        
accompanied with charms inexpressible1  
and1 as ,dryden expresses it7#aj71 the  
first sprightly running of the wine of  
life afforded a zest never after to be  
hoped for4      7#aj7 ,aurengzebe4   ,i 
return then to the consideration of the 
alleged shortness of life4 ,i mentioned 
in the beginning of this ,essay1 that   
human life consists of years1 months and
 days2 each day containing twenty-four  
hours4 ,but1 when ,i said this1 ,i by no
 means carried on the division so far as
 it might be carried4 ,it has been      
calculated that the human mind is       
capable of being impressed with three   
hundred and twenty sensations in a      

second of time47#aa7      7#aa7 ,see    
,watson on ,time1 ,chapter ,,ii4   ,how 
infinitely rapid is the succession of   
thought6 ,while ,i am speaking1 perhaps 
no two ideas are in my mind at the same 
time1 and yet with what facility do ,i  
slide from one to another6 ,if my       
discourse be argumentative1 how often do
 ,i pass in review the topics of which  
it consists1 before ,i utter them2 and1 
even while ,i am speaking1 continue the 
review at intervals1 without producing  
any pause in my discourse6 ,how many    
other sensations are experienced by me  
during this period1 without so much as  
interrupting1 that is1 without          
materially diverting1 the train of my   
ideas6 ,my eye successively remarks a   
thousand objects that present           
themselves4 ,my mind wanders to the     
different parts of my body1 and receives
 a sensation from the chair on which ,i 
sit1 or the table on which ,i lean4 ,it 
reverts to a variety of things that     
occurred in the course of the morning1  

in the course of yesterday1 the most    
remote from1 the most unconnected with1 
the subject that might seem wholly to   
engross me4 ,i see the window1 the      
opening of a door1 the snuffing of a    
candle4 ,when these most perceptibly    
occur1 my mind passes from one to the   
other1 without feeling the minutest     
obstacle1 or being in any degree        
distracted by their multiplicity7#ab74  
7#ab7 ,political ,justice1 ,book ,,iv1  
,chapter ix4   ,if this statement should
 appear to some persons too subtle1 it  
may however prepare us to form a due    
estimate of the following remarks4  ,art
 is long4 ,no1 certainly1 no art is     
long1 compared with the natural duration
 of human life from puberty to old age4 
,there is perhaps no art that may not   
with reasonable diligence be acquired in
 three years1 that is1 as to its        
essential members and its skilful       
exercise4 ,we may improve afterwards1   
but it will be only in minute           
particulars1 and only by fits4 ,our     

subsequent advancement less depends upon
 the continuance of our application1    
than upon the improvement of the mind   
generally1 the refining of our taste1   
the strengthening our judgment1 and the 
accumulation of our experience4  ,the   
idea which prevails among the vulgar of 
mankind is1 that we must make haste to  
be wise4 ,the erroneousness of this     
notion however has from time to time    
been detected by moralists and          
philosophers2 and it has been felt that 
he who proceeds in a hurry towards the  
goal1 exposes himself to the imminent   
risk of never reaching it4  ,the        
consciousness of this danger has led to 
the adoption of the modified maxim1     
,festina lente1 ,hasten1 but with steps 
deliberate and cautious4  ,it would     
however be a more correct advice to the 
aspirant1 to say1 ,be earnest in your   
application1 but let your march be      
vigilant and slow4  ,there is a doggrel 
couplet which ,i have met with in a book
 on elocution3       ,learn to speak    

slow3  all other graces      ,will      
follow in their proper places4  ,i could
 wish to recommend a similar process to 
the student in the course of his        
reading4  ,toplady1 a celebrated        
methodist preacher of the last age1     
somewhere relates a story of a coxcomb1 
who told him that he had read over      
,euclid's ,elements of ,geometry one    
afternoon at his tea1 only leaving out  
the ,a's and ,b's and crooked lines1    
which seemed to be intruded merely to   
retard his progress4  ,nothing is more  
easy than to gabble through a work      
replete with the profoundest elements of
 thinking1 and to carry away almost     
nothing1 when we have finished4  ,the   
book does not deserve even to be read1  
which does not impose on us the duty of 
frequent pauses1 much reflecting and    
inward debate1 or require that we should
 often go back1 compare one observation 
and statement with another1 and does not
 call upon us to combine and knit       
together the disjecta membra4  ,it is an

 observation which has often been       
repeated1 that1 when we come to read an 
excellent author a second and a third   
time1 we find in him a multitude of     
things1 that we did not in the slightest
 degree perceive in a first reading4 ,a 
careful first reading would have a      
tendency in a considerable degree to    
anticipate this following crop4         
,nothing is more certain than that a    
schoolboy gathers much of his most      
valuable instruction when his lesson is 
not absolutely before him4 ,in the same 
sense the more mature student will      
receive most important benefit1 when he 
shuts his book1 and goes forth in the   
field1 and ruminates on what he has     
read4 ,it is with the intellectual1 as  
with the corporeal eye3 we must retire  
to a certain distance from the object we
 would examine1 before we can truly take
 in the whole4 ,we must view it in every
 direction1 survey it1 as ,sterne says1 
transversely1 then foreright1 then this 
way1 and then that1 in all its possible 

directions and foreshortenings7#ac72 and
 thus only can it be expected that we   
should adequately comprehend it4        
7#ac7 ,tristram ,shandy1 ,vol4 ,,iv1    
,chap4 ii4   ,but the thing it was      
principally in my purpose to say is1    
that it is one of the great desiderata  
of human life1 not to accomplish our    
purposes in the briefest time1 to       
consider life as short1 and art as long1
 and therefore to master our ends in the
 smallest number of days or of years1   
but rather to consider it as an ample   
field that is spread before us1 and to  
examine how it is to be filled with     
pleasure1 with advantage1 and with      
usefulness4 ,life is like a lordly      
garden1 which it calls forth all the    
skill of the artist to adorn with       
exhaustless variety and beauty2 or like 
a spacious park or pleasure-ground1 all 
of whose inequalities are to be         
embellished1 and whose various          
capacities of fertilisation1 sublimity  
or grace1 are to be turned to account1  

so that we may wander in it for ever1   
and never be wearied4  ,we shall perhaps
 understand this best1 if we take up the
 subject on a limited scale1 and1 before
 we consider life in its assigned period
 of seventy years1 first confine our    
attention to the space of a single day4 
,and we will consider that day1 not as  
it relates to the man who earns his     
subsistence by the labour of his hands1 
or to him who is immersed in the endless
 details of commerce4 ,but we will take 
the case of the man1 the whole of whose 
day is to be disposed of at his own     
discretion4  ,the attention of the      
curious observer has often been called  
to the tediousness of existence1 how our
 time hangs upon our hands1 and in how  
high estimation the art is held1 of     
giving wings to our hours1 and making   
them pass rapidly and cheerfully away4  
,and moralists of a cynical disposition 
have poured forth many a sorrowful ditty
 upon the inconsistency of man1 who     
complains of the shortness of life1 at  

the same time that he is put to the     
greatest straits how to give an         
agreeable and pleasant occupation to its
 separate portions4 ,let us hear no     
more1 say these moralists1 of the       
transitoriness of human existence1 from 
men to whom life is a burthen1 and who  
are willing to assign a reward to him   
that shall suggest to them an occupation
 or an amusement untried before4  ,but  
this inconsistency1 if it merits the    
name1 is not an affair of artificial and
 supersubtle refinement1 but is based in
 the fundamental principles of our      
nature4 ,it is unavoidable that1 when we
 have reached the close of any great    
epoch of our existence1 and still more  
when we have arrived at its final term1 
we should regret its transitory nature1 
and lament that we have made no more    
effectual use of it4 ,and yet the       
periods and portions of the stream of   
time1 as they pass by us1 will often be 
felt by us as insufferably slow in their
 progress1 and we would give no         

inconsiderable sum to procure that the  
present section of our lives might come 
to an end1 and that we might turn over a
 new leaf in the volume of existence4   
,i have heard various men profess that  
they never knew the minutes that hung   
upon their hands1 and were totally      
unacquainted with what1 borrowing a term
 from the ,french language1 we call     
ennui4 ,i own ,i have listened to these 
persons with a certain degree of        
incredulity1 always excepting such as   
earn their subsistence by constant      
labour1 or as1 being placed in a        
situation of active engagement1 have not
 the leisure to feel apathy and disgust4
  ,but we are talking here of that      
numerous class of human beings1 who are 
their own masters1 and spend every hour 
of the day at the choice of their       
discretion4 ,to these we may add the    
persons who are partially so1 and who1  
having occupied three or four hours of  
every day in discharge of some function 
necessarily imposed on them1 at the     

striking of a given hour go out of      
school1 and employ themselves in a      
certain industry or sport purely of     
their own election4  ,to go back then to
 the consideration of the single day of 
a man1 all of whose hours are at his    
disposal to spend them well or ill1 at  
the bidding of his own judgment1 or the 
impulse of his own caprice4  ,we will   
suppose that1 when he rises from his    
bed1 he has sixteen hours before him1 to
 be employed in whatever mode his will  
shall decide4 ,i bar the case of        
travelling1 or any of those schemes for 
passing the day1 which by their very    
nature take the election out of his     
hands1 and fill up his time with a      
perpetual motion1 the nature of which is
 ascertained from the beginning4  ,with 
such a man then it is in the first place
 indispensibly necessary1 that he should
 have various successive occupations4   
,there is no one study or intellectual  
enquiry to which a man can apply sixteen
 hours consecutively1 unless in some    

extraordinary instances which can occur 
but seldom in the course of a life4 ,and
 even then the attention will from time 
to time relax1 and the freshness of     
mental zeal and activity give way1      
though perhaps1 after the lapse of a few
 minutes they may be revived and brought
 into action again4  ,in the ordinary   
series of human existence it is         
desirable that1 in the course of the    
same day1 a man should have various     
successive occupations4 ,i myself for   
the most part read in one language at   
one part of the day1 and in another at  
another4 ,i am then in the best health  
and tone of spirits1 when ,i employ two 
or three hours1 and no more1 in the act 
of writing and composition4 ,there must 
also in the sixteen hours be a time for 
meals4 ,there should be a time for fresh
 air and bodily exercise4 ,it is in the 
nature of man1 that we should spend a   
part of every day in the society of our 
fellows1 either at public spectacles and
 places of concourse1 or in the familiar

 interchange of conversation with one1  
two1 or more persons with whom we can   
give ourselves up to unrestrained       
communication4 ,all human life1 as ,i   
have said1 every day of our existence1  
consists of term and vacation2 and the  
perfection of practical wisdom is to    
interpose these one with another1 so as 
to produce a perpetual change1 a        
well-chosen relief1 and a freshness and 
elastic tone which may bid defiance to  
weariness4  ,taken then in this point of
 view1 what an empire does the man of   
leisure possess in each single day of   
his life6 ,he disposes of his hours much
 in the same manner1 as the commander of
 a company of men whom it is his        
business to train in the discipline of  
war4  ,this officer directs one party of
 his men to climb a mountain1 and       
another to ford or swim a stream which  
rushes along the valley4 ,he orders this
 set to rush forward with headlong      
course1 and the other to wheel1 and     
approach by circuitous progress perhaps 

to the very same point4 ,he marches them
 to the right and the left4 ,he then    
dismisses them from the scene of        
exercise1 to furbish their arms1 to     
attend to their accoutrements1 or to    
partake of necessary refection4 ,not    
inferior to this is the authority of the
 man of leisure in disposing of the     
hours of one single day of his          
existence4 ,and human life consists of  
many such days1 there being three       
hundred and sixty-five in each year that
 we live4  ,how infinitely various may  
be the occupations of the life of man   
from puberty to old age6 ,we may acquire
 languages2 we may devote ourselves to  
arts2 we may give ourselves up to the   
profoundness of science4 ,nor is any one
 of these objects incompatible with the 
others1 nor is there any reason why the 
same man should not embrace many4 ,we   
may devote one portion of the year to   
travelling1 and another to all the      
abstractions of study4 ,i remember when 
,i was a boy1 looking forward with      

terror to the ample field of human life1
 and saying1 ,when ,i have read through 
all the books that have been written1   
what shall ,i do afterwards8 ,and there 
is infinitely more sense in this1 than  
in the ludicrous exclamations of men who
 complain of the want of time1 and say  
that life affords them no space in which
 to act their imaginings4  ,on the      
contrary1 when a man has got to the end 
of one art or course of study1 he is    
compelled to consider what he shall do  
next4 ,and1 when we have gone through a 
cycle of as many acquisitions1 as1 from 
the limitation of human faculties1 are  
not destructive of each other1 we shall 
find ourselves frequently reduced to the
 beginning some of them over again4 ,nor
 is this the least agreeable occupation 
of human leisure4 ,the book that ,i read
 when ,i was a boy1 presents quite a new
 face to me as ,i advance in the vale of
 years4 ,the same words and phrases     
suggest to me a new train of ideas4 ,and
 it is no mean pleasure that ,i derive  

from the singular sensation of finding  
the same author and the same book1 old  
and yet not old1 presenting to me       
cherished and inestimable recollections1
 and at the same time communicating     
mines of wealth1 the shaft of which was 
till now unexplored4  ,the result then  
of these various observations is to     
persuade the candid and ingenuous man1  
to consider life as an important and    
ample possession1 to resolve that it    
shall be administered with as much      
judgment and deliberation as a person of
 true philanthropy and wisdom would     
administer a splendid income1 and upon  
no occasion so much to think upon the   
point of in how short a time an         
interesting pursuit is to be            
accomplished1 as by what means it shall 
be accomplished in a consummate and     
masterly style4 ,let us hear no more1   
from those who have to a considerable   
degree the command of their hours1 the  
querulous and pitiful complaint that    
they have no time to do what they ought 

to do and would wish to do2 but let them
 feel that they have a gigantic store of
 minutes and hours and days and months1 
abundantly sufficient to enable them to 
effect what it is especially worthy of a
 noble mind to perform6     ,,essay     
,,viii4 ,,of ,,human ,,vegetation4      
,there is another point of view from    
which we may look at the subject of time
 as it is concerned with the business of
 human life1 that will lead us to       
conclusions of a very different sort    
from those which are set down in the    
preceding ,essay4  ,man has two states  
of existence in a striking degree       
distinguished from each other3 the state
 in which he is found during his waking 
hours2 and the state in which he is     
during sleep4  ,the question has been   
agitated by ,locke and other            
philosophers1 whether the soul always   
thinks1 in other words1 whether the     
mind1 during those hours in which our   
limbs lie for the most part in a state  
of inactivity1 is or is not engaged by a

 perpetual succession of images and     
impressions4 ,this is a point that can  
perhaps never be settled4 ,when the     
empire of sleep ceases1 or when we are  
roused from sleep1 we are often         
conscious that we have been to that     
moment busily employed with that sort of
 conceptions and scenes which we call   
dreams4 ,and at times when1 on waking1  
we have no such consciousness1 we can   
never perhaps be sure that the shock    
that waked us1 had not the effect of    
driving away these fugitive and         
unsubstantial images4 ,there are men who
 are accustomed to say1 they never      
dream4 ,if in reality the mind of man1  
from the hour of his birth1 must by the 
law of its nature be constantly occupied
 with sensations or images 7and of the  
contrary we can never be sure71 then    
these men are all their lives in the    
state of persons1 upon whom the shock   
that wakes them1 has the effect of      
driving away such fugitive and          
unsubstantial images4--,add to which1   

there may be sensations in the human    
subject1 of a species confused and      
unpronounced1 which never arrive at that
 degree of distinctness as to take the  
shape of what we call dreaming4  ,so    
much for man in the state of sleep4     
,but during our waking hours1 our minds 
are very differently occupied at        
different periods of the day4 ,i would  
particularly distinguish the two        
dissimilar states of the waking man1    
when the mind is indolent1 and when it  
is on the alert4  ,while ,i am writing  
this ,essay1 my mind may be said to be  
on the alert4 ,it is on the alert1 so   
long as ,i am attentively reading a book
 of philosophy1 of argumentation1 of    
eloquence1 or of poetry4  ,it is on the 
alert1 so long as ,i am addressing a    
smaller or a greater audience1 and      
endeavouring either to amuse or instruct
 them4 ,it is on the alert1 while in    
silence and solitude ,i endeavour to    
follow a train of reasoning1 to marshal 
and arrange a connected set of ideas1 or

 in any other way to improve my mind1 to
 purify my conceptions1 and to advance  
myself in any of the thousand kinds of  
intellectual process4 ,it is on the     
alert1 when ,i am engaged in animated   
conversation1 whether my cue be to take 
a part in the reciprocation of alternate
 facts and remarks in society1 or merely
 to sit an attentive listener to the    
facts and remarks of others4  ,this     
state of the human mind may emphatically
 be called the state of activity and    
attention4  ,so long as ,i am engaged in
 any of the ways here enumerated1 or in 
any other equally stirring mental       
occupations which are not here set down1
 my mind is in a frame of activity4     
,but there is another state in which men
 pass their minutes and hours1 that is  
strongly contrasted with this4 ,it      
depends in some men upon constitution1  
and in others upon accident1 how their  
time shall be divided1 how much shall be
 given to the state of activity1 and how
 much to the state of indolence4  ,in an

 ,essay ,i published many years ago     
there is this passage4  ,the chief point
 of difference between the man of talent
 and the man without1 consists in the   
different ways in which their minds are 
employed during the same interval4 ,they
 are obliged1 let us suppose1 to walk   
from ,temple-,bar to                    
,hyde-,park-,corner4 ,the dull man goes 
straight forward2 he has so many        
furlongs to traverse4 ,he observes if he
 meets any of his acquaintance2 he      
enquires respecting their health and    
their family4 ,he glances perhaps the   
shops as he passes2 he admires the      
fashion of a buckle1 and the metal of a 
tea-urn4 ,if he experiences any flights 
of fancy1 they are of a short extent2 of
 the same nature as the flights of a    
forest-bird1 clipped of his wings1 and  
condemned to pass the rest of his life  
in a farm-yard4 ,on the other hand the  
man of talent gives full scope to his   
imagination4 ,he laughs and cries4      
,unindebted to the suggestions of       

surrounding objects1 his whole soul is  
employed4 ,he enters into nice          
calculations2 he digests sagacious      
reasonings4 ,in imagination he declaims 
or describes1 impressed with the deepest
 sympathy1 or elevated to the loftiest  
rapture4 ,he makes a thousand new and   
admirable combinations4 ,he passes      
through a thousand imaginary scenes1    
tries his courage1 tasks his ingenuity1 
and thus becomes gradually prepared to  
meet almost any of the many-coloured    
events of human life4 ,he consults by   
the aid of memory the books he has read1
 and projects others for the future     
instruction and delight of mankind4 ,if 
he observe the passengers1 he reads     
their countenances1 conjectures their   
past history1 and forms a superficial   
notion of their wisdom or folly1 their  
virtue or vice1 their satisfaction or   
misery4 ,if he observe the scenes that  
occur1 it is with the eye of a          
connoisseur or an artist4 ,every object 
is capable of suggesting to him a volume

 of reflections4 ,the time of these two 
persons in one respect resembles2 it has
 brought them both to                   
,hyde-,park-,corner4 ,in almost every   
other respect it is dissimilar27#ad74   
7#ad7 ,enquirer1 ,part #a1 ,essay ,v4   
,this passage undoubtedly contains a    
true description of what may happen1 and
 has happened4  ,but there lurks in this
 statement a considerable error4  ,it   
has appeared in the second ,essay of    
this volume1 that there is not that     
broad and strong line of distinction    
between the wise man and the dull that  
has often been supposed4 ,we are all of 
us by turns both the one and the other4 
,or1 at least1 the wisest man that ever 
existed spends a portion of his time in 
vacancy and dulness2 and the man1 whose 
faculties are seemingly the most obtuse1
 might1 under proper management from the
 hour of his birth1 barring those rare  
exceptions from the ordinary standard of
 mind which do not deserve to be taken  
into the account1 have proved apt1      

adroit1 intelligent and acute1 in the   
walk for which his organisation         
especially fitted him7#ae74      7#ae7  
,see above1 ,essay #c4   ,many men      
without question1 in a walk of the same 
duration as that above described between
 ,temple-,bar and ,hyde-,park-,corner1  
have passed their time in as much       
activity1 and amidst as strong and      
various excitements1 as those enumerated
 in the passage above quoted4  ,but the 
lives of all men1 the wise1 and those   
whom by way of contrast we are          
accustomed to call the dull1 are divided
 between animation and comparative      
vacancy2 and many a man1 who by the     
bursts of his genius has astonished the 
world1 and commanded the veneration of  
successive ages1 has spent a period of  
time equal to that occupied by a walk   
from ,temple-,bar to                    
,hyde-,park-,corner1 in a state of mind 
as idle1 and as little affording        
materials for recollection1 as the      
dullest man that ever breathed the vital

 air4  ,the two states of man which are 
here attempted to be distinguished1 are1
 first1 that in which reason is said to 
fill her throne1 in which will prevails1
 and directs the powers of mind or of   
bodily action in one channel or another2
 and1 secondly1 that in which these     
faculties1 tired of for ever exercising 
their prerogatives1 or1 being awakened  
as it were from sleep1 and having not   
yet assumed them1 abandon the helm1 even
 as a mariner might be supposed to do1  
in a wide sea1 and in a time when no    
disaster could be apprehended1 and leave
 the vessel of the mind to drift1       
exactly as chance might direct4  ,to    
describe this last state of mind ,i know
 not a better term that can be chosen1  
than that of reverie4 ,it is of the     
nature of what ,i have seen denominated 
,,brown ,,study7#af7 a species of dozing
 and drowsiness1 in which all men spend 
a portion of the waking part of every   
day of their lives4 ,every man must be  
conscious of passing minutes1 perhaps   

hours of the day1 particularly when     
engaged in exercise in the open air1 in 
this species of neutrality and          
eviration4 ,it is often not unpleasant  
at the time1 and leaves no sinking of   
the spirits behind4 ,it is probably of a
 salutary nature1 and may be among the  
means1 in a certain degree beneficial   
like sleep1 by which the machine is     
restored1 and the man comes forth from  
its discipline reinvigorated1 and afresh
 capable of his active duties4          
7#af7 ,norris1 and ,johnson1 ,dictionary
 of the ,english ,language4   ,this     
condition of our nature has considerably
 less vitality in it1 than we experience
 in a complete and perfect dream4 ,in   
dreaming we are often conscious of      
lively impressions1 of a busy scene1 and
 of objects and feelings succeeding each
 other with rapidity4 ,we sometimes     
imagine ourselves earnestly speaking3   
and the topics we treat1 and the words  
we employ1 are supplied to us with      
extraordinary fluency4 ,but the sort of 

vacancy and inoccupation of which ,i    
here treat1 has a greater resemblance to
 the state of mind1 without distinct and
 clearly unfolded ideas1 which we       
experience before we sink into sleep4   
,the mind is in reality in a condition1 
more properly accessible to feeling and 
capable of thought1 than actually in the
 exercise of either the one or the      
other4 ,we are conscious of existence   
and of little more4 ,we move our legs1  
and continue in a peripatetic state2 for
 the man who has gone out of his house  
with a purpose to walk1 exercises the   
power of volition when he sets out1 but 
proceeds in his motion by a             
semi-voluntary act1 by a sort of vis    
inertiae1 which will not cease to       
operate without an express reason for   
doing so1 and advances a thousand steps 
without distinctly willing any but the  
first4 ,when it is necessary to turn to 
the right or the left1 or to choose     
between any two directions on which he  
is called upon to decide1 his mind is so

 far brought into action as the case may
 expressly require1 and no further4  ,i 
have here instanced in the case of the  
peripatetic3 but of how many classes and
 occupations of human life may not the  
same thing be affirmed8 ,it happens to  
the equestrian1 as well as to him that  
walks on foot4 ,it occurs to him who    
cultivates the fruits of the earth1 and 
to him who is occupied in any of the    
thousand manufactures which are the     
result of human ingenuity4 ,it happens  
to the soldier in his march1 and to the 
mariner on board his vessel4 ,it attends
 the individuals of the female sex      
through all their diversified modes of  
industry1 the laundress1 the housemaid1 
the sempstress1 the netter of purses1   
the knotter of fringe1 and the worker in
 tambour1 tapestry and embroidery4 ,in  
all1 the limbs or the fingers are       
employed mechanically2 the attention of 
the mind is only required at intervals2 
and the thoughts remain for the most    
part in a state of non-excitation and   

repose4  ,it is a curious question1 but 
extremely difficult of solution1 what   
portion of the day of every human       
creature must necessarily be spent in   
this sort of intellectual indolence4 ,in
 the lower classes of society its empire
 is certainly very great2 its influence 
is extensive over a large portion of the
 opulent and luxurious2 it is least     
among those who are intrusted in the    
more serious affairs of mankind1 and    
among the literary and the learned1     
those who waste their lives1 and consume
 the midnight-oil1 in the search after  
knowledge4  ,it appeared with sufficient
 clearness in the immediately preceding 
,essay1 that the intellect cannot be    
always on the stretch1 nor the bow of   
the mind for ever bent4 ,in the act of  
composition1 unless where the province  
is of a very inferior kind1 it is likely
 that not more than two or three hours  
at a time can be advantageously         
occupied4 ,but in literary labour it    
will often occur1 that1 in addition to  

the hours expressly engaged in          
composition1 much time may be required  
for the collecting materials1 the       
collating of authorities1 and the       
bringing together a variety of          
particulars1 so as to sift from the mass
 those circumstances which may best     
conduce to the purpose of the writer4   
,in all these preliminary and inferior  
enquiries it is less necessary that the 
mind should be perpetually awake and on 
the alert1 than in the direct office of 
composition4 ,the situation is          
considerably similar of the experimental
 philosopher1 the man who by obstinate  
and unconquerable application resolves  
to wrest from nature her secrets1 and   
apply them to the improvement of social 
life1 or to the giving to the human mind
 a wider range or a more elevated       
sphere4 ,a great portion of this        
employment consists more in the motion  
of the hands and the opportune glance of
 the eye1 than in the labour of the     
head1 and allows to the operator from   

time to time an interval of rest from   
the momentous efforts of invention and  
discovery1 and the careful deduction of 
consequences in the points to be        
elucidated4  ,there is a distinction1   
sufficiently familiar to all persons who
 occupy a portion of their time in      
reading1 that is made between books of  
instruction1 and books of amusement4    
,from the student of mathematics or any 
of the higher departments of science1   
from the reader of books of             
investigation and argument1 an active   
attention is demanded4 ,even in the     
perusal of the history of kingdoms and  
nations1 or of certain memorable periods
 of public affairs1 we can scarcely     
proceed with any satisfaction1 unless in
 so far as we collect our thoughts1     
compare one part of the narrative with  
another1 and hold the mind in a state of
 activity4  ,we are obliged to reason   
while we read1 and in some degree to    
construct a discourse of our own1 at the
 same time that we follow the statements

 of the author before us4 ,unless we do 
this1 the sense and spirit of what we   
read will be apt to slip from under our 
observation1 and we shall by and by     
discover that we are putting together   
words and sounds only1 when we purposed 
to store our minds with facts and       
reflections4 ,we apprehended not the    
sense of the writer even when his pages 
were under our eye1 and of consequence  
have nothing laid up in the memory after
 the hour of reading is completed4  ,in 
works of amusement it is otherwise1 and 
most especially in writings of fiction4 
,these are sought after with avidity by 
the idle1 because for the most part they
 are found to have the virtue of        
communicating impressions to the reader1
 even while his mind remains in a state 
of passiveness4 ,he finds himself       
agreeably affected with fits of mirth or
 of sorrow1 and carries away the facts  
of the tale1 at the same time that he is
 not called upon for the act of         
attention4 ,this is therefore one of the

 modes of luxury especially cultivated  
in a highly civilized state of society4 
,the same considerations will also      
explain to us the principal part of the 
pleasure that is experienced by mankind 
in all states of society from public    
shews and exhibitions4 ,the spectator is
 not called upon to exert himself2 the  
amusement and pleasure come to him1     
while he remains voluptuously at his    
ease2 and it is certain that the        
exertion we make when we are compelled  
to contribute to1 and become in part the
 cause of our own entertainment1 is more
 than the human mind is willing to      
sustain1 except at seasons in which we  
are specially on the alert and awake4   
,this is further one of the causes why  
men in general feel prompted to seek the
 society of their fellows4 ,we are in   
part no doubt called upon in select     
society to bring our own information    
along with us1 and a certain vein of    
wit1 humour or narrative1 that we may   
contribute our proportion to the general

 stock4 ,we read the newspapers1 the    
newest publications1 and repair to      
places of fashionable amusement and     
resort2 partly that we may at least be  
upon a par with the majority of the     
persons we are likely to meet4 ,but many
 do not thus prepare themselves1 nor    
does perhaps any one upon all occasions4
  ,there is another state of human      
existence in which we expressly dismiss 
from our hands the reins of the mind1   
and suffer our minutes and our hours to 
glide by us undisciplined and at random4
  ,this is1 generally speaking1 the case
 in a period of sickness4 ,we have no   
longer the courage to be on the alert1  
and to superintend the march of our     
thoughts4 ,it is the same with us for   
the most part when at any time we lie   
awake in our beds4 ,to speak from my own
 experience1 ,i am in a restless and    
uneasy state while ,i am alone in my    
sitting-room1 unless ,i have some       
occupation of my own choice1 writing or 
reading1 or any of those employments the

 pursuit of which was chosen at first1  
and which is more or less under the     
direction of the will afterwards4 ,but  
when awake in my bed1 either in health  
or sickness1 ,i am reasonably content to
 let my thoughts flow on agreeably to   
those laws of association by which ,i   
find them directed1 without giving      
myself the trouble to direct them into  
one channel rather than another1 or to  
marshal and actively to prescribe the   
various turns and mutations they may be 
impelled to pursue4  ,it is thus that we
 are sick2 and it is thus that we die4  
,the man that guides the operations of  
his own mind1 is either to a certain    
degree in bodily health1 or in that     
health of mind which shall for a longer 
or shorter time stand forward as the    
substitute of the health of the body4   
,when we die1 we give up the game1 and  
are not disposed to contend any further4
 ,it is a very usual thing to talk of   
the struggles of a man in articulo      
mortis4 ,but this is probably1 like so  

many other things that occur to us in   
this sublunary stage1 a delusion4 ,the  
bystander mistakes for a spontaneous    
contention and unwillingness to die1    
what is in reality nothing more than an 
involuntary contraction and convulsion  
of the nerves1 to which the mind is no  
party1 and is even very probably        
unconscious4--,but enough of this1 the  
final and most humiliating state through
 which mortal men may be called on to   
pass4  ,i find then in the history of   
almost every human creature four        
different states or modes of existence4 
,first1 there is sleep4 ,in the         
strongest degree of contrast to this    
there is the frame in which we find     
ourselves1 when we write6 or invent and 
steadily pursue a consecutive train of  
thinking unattended with the implements 
of writing1 or read in some book of     
science or otherwise which calls upon us
 for a fixed attention1 or address      
ourselves to a smaller or greater       
audience1 or are engaged in animated    

conversation4 ,in each of these         
occupations the mind may emphatically be
 said to be on the alert4  ,but there   
are further two distinct states or kinds
 of mental indolence4 ,the first is that
 which we frequently experience during a
 walk or any other species of bodily    
exercise1 where1 when the whole is at an
 end1 we scarcely recollect any thing in
 which the mind has been employed1 but  
have been in what ,i may call a         
healthful torpor1 where our limbs have  
been sufficiently in action to continue 
our exercise1 we have felt the fresh    
breeze playing on our cheeks1 and have  
been in other respects in a frame of no 
unpleasing neutrality4 ,this may be     
supposed greatly to contribute to our   
bodily health4 ,it is the holiday of the
 faculties3 and1 as the bow1 when it has
 been for a considerable time unbent1 is
 said to recover its elasticity1 so the 
mind1 after a holiday of this sort1     
comes fresh1 and with an increased      
alacrity1 to those occupations which    

advance man most highly in the scale of 
being4  ,but there is a second state of 
mental indolence1 not so complete as    
this1 but which is still indolence1     
inasmuch as in it the mind is passive1  
and does not assume the reins of empire4
 ,such is the state in which we are     
during our sleepless hours in bed2 and  
in this state our ideas1 and the topics 
that successively occur1 appear to go   
forward without remission1 while it     
seems that it is this busy condition of 
the mind1 and the involuntary activity  
of our thoughts1 that prevent us from   
sleeping4  ,the distinction then between
 these two sorts of indolence is1 that  
in the latter our ideas are perfectly   
distinct1 are attended with             
consciousness1 and can1 as we please1 be
 called up to recollection4 ,this       
therefore is not what we understand by  
reverie4 ,in these waking hours which   
are spent by us in bed1 the mind is no  
less busy1 than it is in sleep during a 
dream4 ,the other and more perfect sort 

of mental indolence1 is that which we   
often experience during our exercise in 
the open air4 ,this is of the same      
nature as the condition of thought which
 seems to be the necessary precursor of 
sleep1 and is attended with no precise  
consciousness4  ,by the whole of the    
above statement we are led to a new and 
a modified estimate of the duration of  
human life4  ,if by life we understand  
mere susceptibility1 a state of         
existence in which we are accessible at 
any moment to the onset of sensation1   
for example1 of pain--in this sense our 
life is commensurate1 or nearly         
commensurate1 to the entire period1 from
 the quickening of the child in the     
womb1 to the minute at which sense      
deserts the dying man1 and his body     
becomes an inanimate mass4  ,but life1  
in the emphatical sense1 and par        
excellence1 is reduced to much narrower 
limits4 ,from this species of life it is
 unavoidable that we should strike off  
the whole of the interval that is spent 

in sleep2 and thus1 as a general rule1  
the natural day of twenty-four hours is 
immediately reduced to sixteen4  ,of    
these sixteen hours again1 there is a   
portion that falls under the direction  
of will and attention1 and a portion    
that is passed by us in a state of      
mental indolence4 ,by the ordinary and  
least cultivated class of mankind1 the  
husbandman1 the manufacturer1 the       
soldier1 the sailor1 and the main body  
of the female sex1 much the greater part
 of every day is resigned to a state of 
mental indolence4 ,the will does not    
actively interfere1 and the attention is
 not roused4 ,even the most intellectual
 beings of our species pass no          
inconsiderable portion of every day in a
 similar condition4 ,such is our state  
for the most part during the time that  
is given to bodily exercise1 and during 
the time in which we read books of      
amusement merely1 or are employed in    
witnessing public shews and exhibitions4
  ,that portion of every day of our     

existence which is occupied by us with a
 mind attentive and on the alert1 ,i    
would call life in a transcendant sense4
 ,the rest is scarcely better than a    
state of vegetation4  ,and yet not so   
either4 ,the happiest and most valuable 
thoughts of the human mind will         
sometimes come when they are least      
sought for1 and we least anticipated any
 such thing4 ,in reading a romance1 in  
witnessing a performance at a theatre1  
in our idlest and most sportive moods1 a
 vein in the soil of intellect will     
sometimes unexpectedly be broken up1    
richer than all the tribe of            
contemporaneous thoughts1 that shall    
raise him to whom it occurs1 to a rank  
among his species altogether different  
from any thing he had looked for4       
,newton was led to the doctrine of      
gravitation by the fall of an apple1 as 
he indolently reclined under the tree on
 which it grew4 ,a verse may find him1  
who a sermon flies4 ,polemon1 when      
intoxicated1 entered the school of      

,xenocrates1 and was so struck with the 
energy displayed by the master1 and the 
thoughts he delivered1 that from that   
moment he renounced the life of         
dissipation he had previously led1 and  
applied himself entirely to the study of
 philosophy4 --,but these instances are 
comparatively of rare occurrence1 and do
 not require to be taken into the       
account4  ,it is still true therefore   
for the most part1 that not more than   
eight hours in the day are passed by the
 wisest and most energetic1 with a mind 
attentive and on the alert4 ,the        
remainder is a period of vegetation     
only4 ,in the mean time we have all of  
us undoubtedly to a certain degree the  
power of enlarging the extent of the    
period of transcendant life in each day 
of our healthful existence1 and causing 
it to encroach upon the period either of
 mental indolence or of sleep4--,with   
the greater part of the human species   
the whole of their lives while awake1   
with the exception of a few brief and   

insulated intervals1 is spent in a      
passive state of the intellectual       
powers4 ,thoughts come and go1 as       
chance1 or some undefined power in      
nature may direct1 uninterfered with by 
the sovereign will1 the steersman of the
 mind4 ,and often the understanding     
appears to be a blank1 upon which if any
 impressions are then made1 they are    
like figures drawn in the sand which the
 next tide obliterates1 or are even     
lighter and more evanescent than this4  
,let me add1 that the existence of the  
child for two or three years from the   
period of his birth1 is almost entirely 
a state of vegetation4 ,the impressions 
that are made upon his sensorium come   
and go1 without either their advent or  
departure being anticipated1 and without
 the interference of the will4 ,it is   
only under some express excitement1 that
 the faculty of will mounts its throne1 
and exercises its empire4 ,when the     
child smiles1 that act is involuntary2  
but1 when he cries1 will presently comes

 to mix itself with the phenomenon4     
,wilfulness1 impatience and rebellion   
are infallible symptoms of a mind on the
 alert4 ,and1 as the child in the first 
stages of its existence puts forth the  
faculty of will only at intervals1 so   
for a similar reason this period is but 
rarely accompanied with memory1 or      
leaves any traces of recollection for   
our after-life4  ,there are other       
memorable states of the intellectual    
powers1 which if ,i did not mention1 the
 survey here taken would seem to be     
glaringly imperfect4 ,the first of these
 is madness4 ,in this humiliating       
condition of our nature the sovereignty 
of reason is deposed3                   
,chaos umpire sits1                ,and 
by decision more embroils the fray4     
,the mind is in a state of turbulence   
and tempest in one instant1 and in      
another subsides into the deepest       
imbecility2 and1 even when the will is  
occasionally roused1 the link which     
preserved its union with good sense and 

sobriety is dissolved1 and the views by 
which it has the appearance of being    
regulated1 are all based in             
misconstruction and delusion4  ,next to 
madness occur the different stages of   
spleen1 dejection and listlessness4 ,the
 essence of these lies in the           
passiveness and neutrality of the       
intellectual powers4 ,in as far as the  
unhappy sufferer could be roused to act1
 the disease would be essentially       
diminished1 and might finally be        
expelled4 ,but long days and months are 
spent by the patient in the midst of all
 harassing imaginations1 and an         
everlasting nightmare seems to sit on   
the soul1 and lock up its powers in     
interminable inactivity4 ,almost the    
only interruption to this1 is when the  
demands of nature require our attention1
 or we pay a slight and uncertain       
attention to the decencies of           
cleanliness and attire4  ,in all these  
considerations then we find abundant    
occasion to humble the pride and        

vain-glory of man4 ,but they do not     
overturn the principles delivered in the
 preceding ,essay respecting the        
duration of human life1 though they     
certainly interpose additional          
boundaries to limit the prospects of    
individual improvement4     ,,essay     
,,ix4 ,,of ,,leisure4  ,the river of    
human life is divided into two streams2 
occupation and leisure--or1 to express  
the thing more accurately1 that         
occupation1 which is prescribed1 and may
 be called the business of life1 and    
that occupation1 which arises           
contingently1 and not so much of        
absolute and set purpose1 not being     
prescribed3 such being the more exact   
description of these two divisions of   
human life1 inasmuch as the latter is   
often not less earnest and intent in its
 pursuits than the former4  ,it would be
 a curious question to ascertain which  
of these is of the highest value4  ,to  
this enquiry ,i hear myself loudly and  
vehemently answered from all hands in   

favour of the first4 ,this1 ,i am told  
by unanimous acclamation1 is the        
business of life4  ,the decision in     
favour of what we primarily called      
occupation1 above what we called        
leisure1 may in a mitigated sense be    
entertained as true4 ,man can live with 
little or no leisure1 for millions of   
human beings do so live3 but the species
 to which we belong1 and of consequence 
the individuals of that species1 cannot 
exist as they ought to exist1 without   
occupation4  ,granting however the      
paramount claims that occupation has to 
our regard1 let us endeavour to arrive  
at a just estimate of the value of      
leisure4  ,it has been said by some one1
 with great appearance of truth1 that   
schoolboys learn as much1 perhaps more1 
of beneficial knowledge in their hours  
of play1 as in their hours of study4    
,the wisdom of ages has been applied to 
ascertain what are the most desirable   
topics for the study of the schoolboy4  
,they are selected for the most part by 

the parent4 ,there are few parents that 
do not feel a sincere and disinterested 
desire for the welfare of their         
children4 ,it is an unquestionable      
maxim1 that we are the best judges of   
that of which we have ourselves had     
experience2 and all parents have been   
children4 ,it is therefore idle and     
ridiculous to suppose that those studies
 which have for centuries been chosen by
 the enlightened mature for the         
occupation of the young1 have not for   
the most part been well chosen4 ,of     
these studies the earliest consist in   
the arts of reading and writing4 ,next  
follows arithmetic1 with perhaps some   
rudiments of algebra and geometry4      
,afterward comes in due order the       
acquisition of languages1 particularly  
the dead languages2 a most fortunate    
occupation for those years of man1 in   
which the memory is most retentive1 and 
the reasoning powers have yet acquired  
neither solidity nor enlargement4 ,such 
are the occupations of the schoolboy in 

his prescribed hours of study4  ,but the
 schoolboy is cooped up in an apartment1
 it may be with a number of his fellows4
 ,he is seated at a desk1 diligently    
conning the portion of learning that is 
doled out to him1 or1 when he has       
mastered his lesson1 reciting it with   
anxious brow and unassured lips to the  
senior1 who is to correct his errors1   
and pronounce upon the sufficiency of   
his industry4 ,all this may be well3 but
 it is a new and more exhilarating      
spectacle that presents itself to our   
observation1 when he is dismissed from  
his temporary labours1 and rushes       
impetuously out to the open air1 and    
gives free scope to his limbs and his   
voice1 and is no longer under the eye of
 a censor that shall make him feel his  
subordination and dependence4           
,meanwhile the question under           
consideration was1 not in which state he
 experienced the most happiness1 but    
which was productive of the greatest    
improvement4  ,the review of the human  

subject is conveniently divided under   
the heads of body and mind4  ,there can 
be no doubt that the health of the body 
is most promoted by those exercises in  
which the schoolboy is engaged during   
the hours of play4 ,and it is further to
 be considered that health is required1 
not only that we may be serene1         
contented and happy1 but that we may be 
enabled effectually to exert the        
faculties of the mind4  ,but there is   
another way1 in which we are called upon
 to consider the division of the human  
subject under the heads of body and     
mind4  ,the body is the implement and   
instrument of the mind1 the tool by     
which most of its purposes are to be    
effected4 ,we live in the midst of a    
material world1 or of what we call such4
 ,the greater part of the pursuits in   
which we engage1 are achieved by the    
action of the limbs and members of the  
body upon external matter4  ,our        
communications with our fellow-men are  
all of them carried on by means of the  

body4  ,now the action of the limbs and 
members of the body is infinitely       
improved by those exercises in which the
 schoolboy becomes engaged during his   
hours of play4 ,in the first place it is
 to be considered that we do those      
things most thoroughly and in the       
shortest time1 which are spontaneous1   
the result of our own volition2 and such
 are the exercises in which the         
schoolboy engages during this period4   
,his heart and soul are in what he does4
 ,the man or the boy must be a poor     
creature indeed1 who never does any     
thing but as he is bid by another4 ,it  
is in his voluntary acts and his sports1
 that he learns the skilful and         
effective use of his eye and his limbs4 
,he selects his mark1 and he hits it4   
,he tries again and again1 effort after 
effort1 and day after day1 till he has  
surmounted the difficulty of the        
attempt1 and the rebellion of his       
members4 ,every articulation and muscle 
of his frame is called into action1 till

 all are obedient to the master-will2   
and his limbs are lubricated and        
rendered pliant by exercise1 as the     
limbs of the ,grecian athleta were      
lubricated with oil4  ,thus he acquires1
 first dexterity of motion1 and next1   
which is of no less importance1 a       
confidence in his own powers1 a         
consciousness that he is able to effect 
what he purposes1 a calmness and        
serenity which resemble the sweeping of 
the area1 and scattering of the         
saw-dust1 upon which the dancer or the  
athlete is to exhibit with grace1       
strength and effect4  ,so much for the  
advantages reaped by the schoolboy      
during his hours of play as to the      
maturing his bodily powers1 and the     
improvement of those faculties of his   
mind which more immediately apply to the
 exercise of his bodily powers4  ,but1  
beside this1 it is indispensible to the 
well-being and advantage of the         
individual1 that he should employ the   
faculties of his mind in spontaneous    

exertions4 ,i do not object1 especially 
during the period of nonage1 to a       
considerable degree of dependence and   
control4 ,but his greatest advancement1 
even then1 seems to arise from the      
interior impulses of his mind4 ,the     
schoolboy exercises his wit1 and        
indulges in sallies of the thinking     
principle4 ,this is wholsome2 this is   
fresh2 it has twice the quickness1      
clearness and decision in it1 that are  
to be found in those acts of the mind   
which are employed about the lessons    
prescribed to him4  ,in school our youth
 are employed about the thoughts1 the   
acts and suggestions of other men4 ,this
 is all mimicry1 and a sort of          
second-hand business4 ,it resembles the 
proceeding of the fresh-listed soldier  
at drill2 he has ever his eye on his    
right-hand man1 and does not raise his  
arm1 nor advance his foot1 nor move his 
finger1 but as he sees another perform  
the same motion before him4 ,it is when 
the schoolboy proceeds to the           

playground1 that he engages in real     
action and real discussion4 ,it is then 
that he is an absolute human being and a
 genuine individual4  ,the debates of   
schoolboys1 their discussions what they 
shall do1 and how it shall be done1 are 
anticipations of the scenes of maturer  
life4 ,they are the dawnings of         
committees1 and vestries1 and           
hundred-courts1 and ward-motes1 and     
folk-motes1 and parliaments4 ,when boys 
consult when and where their next       
cricket-match shall be played1 it may be
 regarded as the embryo representation  
of a consult respecting a grave         
enterprise to be formed1 or a colony to 
be planted4 ,and1 when they enquire     
respecting poetry and prose1 and figures
 and tropes1 and the dictates of taste1 
this happily prepares them for the      
investigations of prudence1 and morals1 
and religious principles1 and what is   
science1 and what is truth4  ,it is thus
 that the wit of man1 to use the word in
 the old ,saxon sense1 begins to be     

cultivated4 ,one boy gives utterance to 
an assertion2 and another joins issue   
with him1 and retorts4 ,the wheels of   
the engine of the brain are set in      
motion1 and1 without force1 perform     
their healthful revolutions4 ,the       
stripling feels himself called upon to  
exert his presence of mind1 and becomes 
conscious of the necessity of an        
immediate reply4 ,like the unfledged    
bird1 he spreads his wings1 and essays  
their powers4 ,he does not answer1 like 
a boy in his class1 who tasks his       
understanding or not1 as the whim of the
 moment shall prompt him1 where one boy 
honestly performs to the extent of his  
ability1 and others disdain the empire  
assumed over them1 and get off as       
cheaply as they can4 ,he is no longer   
under review1 but is engaged in real    
action4 ,the debate of the schoolboy is 
the combat of the intellectual          
gladiator1 where he fences and parries  
and thrusts with all the skill and      
judgment he possesses4  ,there is       

another way in which the schoolboy      
exercises his powers during his periods 
of leisure4 ,he is often in society2 but
 he is ever and anon in solitude4 ,at no
 period of human life are our reveries  
so free and untrammeled1 as at the      
period here spoken of4 ,he climbs the   
mountain-cliff2 and penetrates into the 
depths of the woods4 ,his joints are    
well strung2 he is a stranger to        
fatigue4 ,he rushes down the precipice1 
and mounts again with ease1 as though he
 had the wings of a bird4 ,he ruminates1
 and pursues his own trains of          
reflection and discovery1 exhausting    
worlds1 as it appears to him1 and then  
imagining new4 ,he hovers on the brink  
of the deepest philosophy1 enquiring how
 came ,i here1 and to what end4 ,he     
becomes a castle-builder1 constructing  
imaginary colleges and states1 and      
searching out the businesses in which   
they are to be employed1 and the schemes
 by which they are to be regulated4 ,he 
thinks what he would do1 if he possessed

 uncontrolable strength1 if he could    
fly1 if he could make himself invisible4
 ,in this train of mind he cons his     
first lessons of liberty and            
independence4 ,he learns self-reverence1
 and says to himself1 ,i also am an     
artist1 and a maker4 ,he ruffles himself
 under the yoke1 and feels that he      
suffers foul tyranny when he is driven1 
and when brute force is exercised upon  
him1 to compel him to a certain course1 
or to chastise his faults1 imputed or   
real4  ,such are the benefits of leisure
 to the schoolboy3 and they are not less
 to man when arrived at years of        
discretion4 ,it is good for us to have  
some regular and stated occupation4 ,man
 may be practically too free2 this is   
frequently the case with those who have 
been nurtured in the lap of opulence and
 luxury4 ,we were sent into the world   
under the condition1 ,in the sweat of   
thy brow shalt thou eat bread4 ,and     
those who1 by the artificial            
institutions of society1 are discharged 

from this necessity1 are placed in a    
critical and perilous situation4 ,they  
are bound1 if they would consult their  
own well-being1 to contrive for         
themselves a factitious necessity1 that 
may stand them in the place of that     
necessity which is imposed without      
appeal on the vast majority of their    
brethren4  ,but1 if it is desirable that
 every man should have some regular and 
stated occupation1 so it is certainly   
not less desirable1 that every man      
should have his seasons of relaxation   
and leisure4  ,unhappy is the wretch1   
whose condition it is to be perpetually 
bound to the oar1 and who is condemned  
to labour in one certain mode1 during   
all the hours that are not claimed by   
sleep1 or as long as the muscles of his 
frame1 or the fibres of his fingers will
 enable him to persevere4 ,apollo       
himself1 says the poet1 does not always 
bend the bow4 ,there should be a season1
 when the mind is free as air1 when not 
only we should follow without restraint 

any train of thinking or action1 within 
the bounds of sobriety1 and that is not 
attended with injury to others1 that our
 own minds may suggest to us1 but should
 sacrifice at the shrine of intellectual
 liberty1 and spread our wings1 and take
 our flight into untried regions4 ,it is
 good for man that he should feel       
himself at some time unshackled and     
autocratical1 that he should say1 ,this 
,i do1 because it is prescribed to me by
 the conditions without which ,i cannot 
exist1 or by the election which in past 
time ,i deliberately made2 and this1    
because it is dictated by the present   
frame of my spirit1 and is therefore    
that in which the powers my nature has  
entailed upon me may be most fully      
manifested4 ,in addition to which we are
 to consider1 that a certain variety and
 mutation of employments is best adapted
 to humanity4 ,when my mind or my body  
seems to be overwrought by one species  
of occupation1 the substitution of      
another will often impart to me new     

life1 and make me feel as fresh as if no
 labour had before engaged me4 ,for all 
these reasons it is to be desired1 that 
we should possess the inestimable       
privilege of leisure1 that in the       
revolving hours of every day a period   
should arrive1 at which we should lay   
down the weapons of our labour1 and     
engage in a sport that may be no less   
active and strenuous than the occupation
 which preceded it4  ,a question1 which 
deserves our attention in this place1   
is1 how much of every day it behoves us 
to give to regular and stated           
occupation1 and how much is the just and
 legitimate province of leisure4 ,it has
 been remarked in a preceding           
,essay7#ag71 that1 if my main and       
leading pursuit is literary composition1
 two or three hours in the twenty-four  
will often be as much as can            
advantageously and effectually be so    
employed4 ,but this will unavoidably    
vary according to the nature of the     
occupation3 the period above named may  

be taken as the ,,minimum4      7#ag7   
,see above1 ,essay #g4   ,such1 let us  
say1 is the portion of time which the   
man of letters is called on to devote to
 literary composition4  ,it may next be 
fitting to enquire as to the humbler    
classes of society1 and those persons   
who are engaged in the labour of the    
hands1 how much time they ought to be   
expected to consume in their regular and
 stated occupations1 and how much would 
remain to them for relaxation and       
leisure4 ,it has been said7#ah71 that   
half an hour in the day given by every  
member of the community to manual       
labour1 might be sufficient for         
supplying the whole with the absolute   
necessaries of life4 ,but there are     
various considerations that would       
inevitably lengthen this period4 ,in a  
community which has made any            
considerable advance in the race of     
civilisation1 many individuals must be  
expected to be excused from any portion 
of manual labour4 ,it is not desirable  

that any community should be contented  
to supply itself with necessaries only4 
,there are many refinements in life1 and
 many advances in literature and the    
arts1 which indispensibly conduce to the
 rendering man in society a nobler and  
more exalted creature than he could     
otherwise be2 and these ought not to be 
consigned to neglect4      7#ah7        
,political ,justice1 ,book ,,viii1      
,chap4 ,,vi4   ,on the other hand       
however it is certain1 that much of the 
ostentation and a multitude of the      
luxuries which subsist in ,european and 
,asiatic society are just topics of     
regret1 and that1 if ever those         
improvements in civilisation take place 
which philosophy has essayed to         
delineate1 there would be a great       
abridgment of the manual labour that we 
now see around us1 and the humbler      
classes of the community would enter    
into the inheritance of a more          
considerable portion of leisure than at 
present falls to their lot4  ,but it has

 been much the habit1 for persons not   
belonging to the humbler classes of the 
community1 and who profess to speculate 
upon the genuine interests of human     
society1 to suppose1 however certain    
intervals of leisure may conduce to the 
benefit of men whose tastes have been   
cultivated and refined1 and who from    
education have many resources of        
literature and reflection at all times  
at their beck1 yet that leisure might   
prove rather pernicious than otherwise  
to the uneducated and the ignorant4 ,let
 us enquire then how these persons would
 be likely to employ the remainder of   
their time1 if they had a greater       
portion of leisure than they at present 
enjoy4--,i would add1 that the          
individuals of the humbler classes of   
the community need not for ever to merit
 the appellation of the uneducated and  
ignorant4  ,in the first place1 they    
would engage1 like the schoolboy1 in    
active sports1 thereby giving to their  
limbs1 which1 in rural occupation and   

mechanical labour1 are somewhat too     
monotonously employed1 and contract the 
stiffness and experience the waste of a 
premature old age1 the activity and     
freedom of an athlete1 a cricketer1 or a
 hunter4 ,nor do these occupations only 
conduce to the health of the body1 they 
also impart a spirit and a juvenile     
earnestness to the mind4  ,in the next  
place1 they may be expected to devote a 
part of the day1 more than they do at   
present1 to their wives and families1   
cultivating the domestic affections1    
watching the expanding bodies and minds 
of their children1 leading them on in   
the road of improvement1 warning them   
against the perils with which they are  
surrounded1 and observing with somewhat 
of a more jealous and parental care1    
what it is for which by their individual
 qualities they are best adapted1 and in
 what particular walk of life they may  
most advantageously be engaged4 ,the    
father and the son would grow in a much 
greater degree friends1 anticipating    

each other's wishes1 and sympathising in
 each other's pleasures and pains4      
,thirdly1 one infallible consequence of 
a greater degree of leisure in the lower
 classes would be that reading would    
become a more common propensity and     
amusement4 ,it is the aphorism of one of
 the most enlightened of my             
contemporaries1 ,the schoolmaster is    
abroad3 and many more than at present   
would desire to store up in their little
 hoard a certain portion of the general 
improvement4 ,we should no longer have  
occasion to say1       ,but knowledge to
 their eyes her ample page1       ,rich 
with the spoils of time1 did ne'er      
unrol4  ,nor should we be incited to    
fear that ever wakeful anticipation of  
the illiberal1 that1 by the too great   
diffusion of the wisdom of the wise1 we 
might cease to have a race of men       
adapted to the ordinary pursuits of     
life4 ,our ploughmen and artificers1 who
 obtained the improvements of intellect 
through the medium of leisure1 would    

have already received their destination1
 and formed their habits1 and would be  
disposed to consider the new lights that
 were opened upon them1 as the ornament 
of existence1 not its substance4 ,add to
 which1 as leisure became more abundant1
 and the opportunities of intellectual  
improvement increased1 they would have  
less motive to repine at their lot4 ,it 
is principally while knowledge and      
information are new1 that they are      
likely to intoxicate the brain of those 
to whose share they have fallen2 and1   
when they are made a common stock upon  
which all men may draw1 sound thinking  
and sobriety may be expected to be the  
general result4  ,one of the scenes to  
which the leisure of the laborious      
classes is seen to induce them to       
resort1 is the public-house2 and it is  
inferred that1 if their leisure were    
greater1 a greater degree of            
drunkenness1 dissipation and riot would 
inevitably prevail4  ,in answer to this 
anticipation1 ,i would in the first     

place assert1 that the merits and       
demerits of the public-house are very   
unjustly rated by the fastidious among  
the more favoured orders of society4    
,we ought to consider that the          
opportunities and amusements of the     
lower orders of society are few4 ,they  
do not frequent coffee-houses2 theatres 
and places of public exhibition are     
ordinarily too expensive for them2 and  
they cannot engage in rounds of         
visiting1 thus cultivating a private and
 familiar intercourse with the few whose
 conversation might be most congenial to
 them4 ,we certainly bear hard upon     
persons in this rank of society1 if we  
expect that they should take all the    
severer labour1 and have no periods of  
unbending and amusement4  ,but in       
reality what occurs in the public-house 
we are too much in the habit of         
calumniating4 ,if we would visit this   
scene1 we should find it pretty         
extensively a theatre of eager and      
earnest discussion4 ,it is here that the

 ardent and unwashed artificer1 and the 
sturdy husbandman1 compare notes and    
measure wits with each other4 ,it is    
their arena of intellectual combat1 the 
ludus literarius of their unrefined     
university4 ,it is here they learn to   
think4 ,their minds are awakened from   
the sleep of ignorance2 and their       
attention is turned into a thousand     
channels of improvement4 ,they study the
 art of speaking1 of question1          
allegation and rejoinder4 ,they fix     
their thought steadily on the statement 
that is made1 acknowledge its force1 or 
detect its insufficiency4 ,they examine 
the most interesting topics1 and form   
opinions the result of that examination4
 ,they learn maxims of life1 and become 
politicians4 ,they canvas the civil and 
criminal laws of their country1 and     
learn the value of political liberty4   
,they talk over measures of state1 judge
 of the intentions1 sagacity and        
sincerity of public men1 and are likely 
in time to become in no contemptible    

degree capable of estimating what modes 
of conducting national affairs1 whether 
for the preservation of the rights of   
all1 or for the vindication and         
assertion of justice between man and    
man1 may be expected to be crowned with 
the greatest success3 in a word1 they   
thus become1 in the best sense of the   
word1 citizens4  ,as to excess in       
drinking1 the same thing may be expected
 to occur here1 as has been remarked of 
late years in better company in         
,england4 ,in proportion as the         
understanding is cultivated1 men are    
found to be less the victims of drinking
 and the grosser provocatives of sense4 
,the king of ,persia of old made it his 
boast that he could drink large         
quantities of liquor with greater       
impunity than any of his subjects4 ,such
 was not the case with the more polished
 ,greeks4 ,in the dark ages the most    
glaring enormities of that kind         
prevailed4 ,under our ,charles the      
,second coarse dissipation and riot     

characterised the highest circles4      
,rochester1 the most accomplished man   
and the greatest wit of our island1     
related of himself that1 for five years 
together1 he could not affirm that for  
any one day he had been thoroughly      
sober4 ,in ,ireland1 a country less     
refined than our own1 the period is not 
long past1 when on convivial occasions  
the master of the house took the key    
from his door1 that no one of his guests
 might escape without having had his    
dose4 ,no small number of the           
contemporaries of my youth fell         
premature victims to the intemperance   
which was then practised4 ,now wine is  
merely used to excite a gayer and       
livelier tone of the spirits2 and       
inebriety is scarcely known in the      
higher circles4 ,in like manner1 it may 
readily be believed that1 as men in the 
lower classes of society become less    
ignorant and obtuse1 as their thoughts  
are less gross1 as they wear off the    
vestigia ruris1 the remains of a        

barbarous state1 they will find less    
need to set their spirits afloat by this
 animal excitement1 and will devote     
themselves to those thoughts and that   
intercourse which shall inspire them    
with better and more honourable thoughts
 of our common nature4     ,,essay ,x4  
,,of ,,imitation ,,and ,,invention4  ,of
 the sayings of the wise men of former  
times none has been oftener repeated    
than that of ,solomon1 ,the thing that  
hath been1 is that which is2 and that   
which is done1 is that which shall be   
done2 and there is no new thing under   
the sun4  ,the books of the ,old        
,testament are apparently a collection  
of the whole literary remains of an     
ancient and memorable people1 whose     
wisdom may furnish instruction to us1   
and whose poetry abounds in lofty       
flights and sublime imagery4 ,how this  
collection came indiscriminately to be  
considered as written by divine         
inspiration1 it is difficult to         
pronounce4 ,the history of the ,jews1 as

 contained in the ,books of ,kings and  
of ,chronicles1 certainly did not       
require the interposition of the        
,almighty for its production2 and the   
pieces we receive as the compositions of
 ,solomon have conspicuously the air of 
having emanated from a conception       
entirely human4  ,in the book of        
,ecclesiastes1 from which the above     
sentence is taken1 are many sentiments  
not in accordance with the religion of  
,christ4 ,for example2 ,that which      
befalleth the sons of men1 befalleth    
beasts2 as the one dieth1 so dieth the  
other2 yea1 they have all one breath1 so
 that a man hath no preeminence above a 
beast3 all go to one place2 all are of  
the dust1 and turn to dust again4       
,wherefore ,i perceive that there is    
nothing better1 than that a man should  
rejoice in his works4 ,and again1 ,the  
living know that they shall die2 but the
 dead know not any thing2 their love1   
and their hatred1 and their envy are    
perished2 neither have they any more a  

reward4 ,add to this1 ,wherefore ,i     
praise the dead which are already dead1 
more than the living which are yet      
alive3 yea1 better is he than both they1
 which hath not yet been4 ,there can    
therefore be no just exception taken    
against our allowing ourselves freely to
 canvas the maxim cited at the head of  
this ,essay4  ,it certainly contains a  
sufficient quantity of unquestionable   
truth1 to induce us to regard it as     
springing from profound observation1 and
 comprehensive views of what is acted   
under the sun4  ,a wise man would look  
at the labours of his own species1 in   
much the same spirit as he would view an
 ant-hill through a microscope4 ,he     
would see them tugging a grain of corn  
up a declivity2 he would see the tracks 
that are made by those who go1 and who  
return2 their incessant activity2 and   
would find one day the copy of that     
which went before2 and their labours    
ending in nothing3 ,i mean1 in nothing  
that shall carry forward the improvement

 of the head and the heart1 either in   
the individual or society1 or that shall
 add to the conveniences of life1 or the
 better providing for the welfare of    
communities of men4 ,he would smile at  
their earnestness and zeal1 all spent in
 supplying the necessaries of the day1  
or1 at most1 providing for the          
revolution of the seasons1 or for that  
ephemeral thing we call the life of man4
  ,few things can appear more singular1 
when duly analysed1 than that           
articulated air1 which we denominate    
speech4 ,it is not to be wondered at    
that we are proud of the prerogative1   
which so eminently distinguishes us from
 the rest of the animal creation4 ,the  
dog1 the cat1 the horse1 the bear1 the  
lion1 all of them have voice4 ,but we   
may almost consider this as their       
reproach4 ,they can utter for the       
greater part but one monotonous1 eternal
 sound4  ,the lips1 the teeth1 the      
palate1 the throat1 which in man are    
instruments of modifying the voice in   

such endless variety1 are in this       
respect given to them in vain3 while all
 the thoughts that occur1 at least to   
the bulk of mankind1 we are able to     
express in words1 to communicate facts1 
feelings1 passions1 sentiments1 to      
discuss1 to argue1 to agree1 to issue   
commands on the one part1 and report the
 execution on the other1 to inspire     
lofty conceptions1 to excite the deepest
 feeling of commiseration1 and to thrill
 the soul with extacy1 almost too mighty
 to be endured4  ,yet what is human     
speech for the most part but mere       
imitation8 ,in the most obvious sense   
this stands out on the surface4 ,we     
learn the same words1 we speak the same 
language1 as our elders4 ,not only our  
words1 but our phrases are the same4 ,we
 are like players1 who come out as if   
they were real persons1 but only utter  
what is set down for them4 ,we represent
 the same drama every day2 and1 however 
stale is the eternal repetition1 pass it
 off upon others1 and even upon         

ourselves1 as if it were the suggestion 
of the moment4 ,in reality1 in rural or 
vulgar life1 the invention of a new     
phrase ought to be marked down among the
 memorable things in the calendar4 ,we  
afford too much honour to ordinary      
conversation1 when we compare it to the 
exhibition of the recognised theatres1  
since men ought for the most part to be 
considered as no more than puppets4     
,they perform the gesticulations2 but   
the words come from some one else1 who  
is hid from the sight of the general    
observer4 ,and not only the words1 but  
the cadence3 they have not even so much 
honour as players have1 to choose the   
manner they may deem fittest by which to
 convey the sense and the passion of    
what they speak4 ,the pronunciation1 the
 dialect1 all1 are supplied to them1 and
 are but a servile repetition4 ,our     
tempers are merely the work of the      
transcriber4 ,we are angry1 where we saw
 that others were angry2 and we are     
pleased1 because it is the tone to be   

pleased4 ,we pretend to have each of us 
a judgment of our own3 but in truth we  
wait with the most patient docility1    
till he whom we regard as the leader of 
the chorus gives us the signal1 ,here   
you are to applaud1 and ,here you are to
 condemn4  ,what is it that constitutes 
the manners of nations1 by which the    
people of one country are so eminently  
distinguished from the people of        
another1 so that you cannot cross the   
channel from ,dover to ,calais1         
twenty-one miles1 without finding       
yourself in a new world8 ,nay1 ,i need  
not go among the subjects of another    
government to find examples of this2 if 
,i pass into ,ireland1 ,scotland or     
,wales1 ,i see myself surrounded with a 
new people1 all of whose characters are 
in a manner cast in one mould1 and all  
different from the citizens of the      
principal state and from one another4   
,we may go further than this4 ,not only 
nations1 but classes of men1 are        
contrasted with each other4 ,what can be

 more different than the gentry of the  
west end of this metropolis1 and the    
money-making dwellers in the east8 ,from
 them ,i will pass to ,billingsgate and 
,wapping4 ,what more unlike than a      
soldier and a sailor8 the children of   
fashion that stroll in ,st4 ,james's and
 ,hyde ,park1 and the care-worn         
hirelings1 that recreate themselves1    
with their wives and their brats1 with a
 little fresh air on a ,sunday near     
,islington8 ,the houses of lords and    
commons have each their characteristic  
manners4 ,each profession has its own1  
the lawyer1 the divine1 and the man of  
medicine4 ,we are all apes1 fixing our  
eyes upon a model1 and copying him1     
gesture by gesture4 ,we are sheep1      
rushing headlong through the gap1 when  
the bell-wether shews us the way4 ,we   
are choristers1 mechanically singing in 
a certain key1 and giving breath to a   
certain tone4  ,our religion1 our civil 
practices1 our political creed1 are all 
imitation4 ,how many men are there1 that

 have examined the evidences of their   
religious belief1 and can give a sound  
reason of the faith that is in them8    
,when ,i was a child1 ,i was taught that
 there were four religions in the world1
 the ,popish1 the ,protestant1 the      
,mahometan1 the ,pagan4 ,it is a        
phenomenon to find the man1 who has held
 the balance steadily1 and rendered full
 and exact justice to the pretensions of
 each of these4 ,no3 tell me the        
longitude and latitude in which a man is
 born1 and ,i will tell you his         
religion4        ,by education most have
 been misled2       ,so they believe1   
because they so were bred3       ,the   
priest continues what the nurse began1  
,and thus the child imposes on the man4 
,and1 if this happens1 where we are told
 our everlasting salvation is at issue1 
we may easily judge of the rest4  ,the  
author1 with one of whose dicta ,i began
 this ,essay1 has observed1 ,one        
generation passeth away1 and another    
generation cometh2 but the earth abideth

 for ever4 ,it is a maxim of the        
,english constitution1 that the king    
never dies2 and the same may with nearly
 equal propriety be observed of every   
private man1 especially if he have      
children4 ,death1 say the writers of    
natural history1 is the generator of    
life3 and what is thus true of animal   
corruption1 may with small variation be 
affirmed of human mortality4 ,i turn off
 my footman1 and hire another2 and he   
puts on the livery of his predecessor3  
he thinks himself somebody2 but he is   
only a tenant4 ,the same thing is true1 
when a country-gentleman1 a noble1 a    
bishop1 or a king dies4 ,he puts off his
 garments1 and another puts them on4    
,every one knows the story of the       
,tartarian dervise1 who mistook the     
royal palace for a caravansera1 and who 
proved to his majesty by genealogical   
deduction1 that he was only a lodger4   
,in this sense the mutability1 which so 
eminently characterises every thing     
sublunary1 is immutability under another

 name4  ,the most calamitous1 and the   
most stupendous scenes are nothing but  
an eternal and wearisome repetition3    
executions1 murders1 plagues1 famine and
 battle4 ,military execution1 the       
demolition of cities1 the conquest of   
nations1 have been acted a hundred times
 before4 ,the mighty conqueror1 who     
smote the people in wrath with a        
continual stroke1 who sat in the seat of
 ,god1 shewing himself that he was ,god1
 and assuredly persuaded himself that he
 was doing something to be had in       
everlasting remembrance1 only did that  
which a hundred other vulgar conquerors 
had done in successive ages of the      
world1 whose very names have long since 
perished from the records of mankind4   
,thus it is that the human species is   
for ever engaged in laborious idleness4 
,we put our shoulder to the wheel1 and  
raise the vehicle out of the mire in    
which it was swallowed1 and we say1 ,i  
have done something2 but the same feat  
under the same circumstances has been   

performed a thousand times before4 ,we  
make what strikes us as a profound      
observation2 and1 when fairly analysed1 
it turns out to be about as sagacious1  
as if we told what's o'clock1 or whether
 it is rain or sunshine4 ,nothing can be
 more delightfully ludicrous1 than the  
important and emphatical air with which 
the herd of mankind enunciate the most  
trifling observations4 ,with much labour
 we are delivered of what is to us a new
 thought2 and1 after a time1 we find the
 same in a musty volume1 thrown by in a 
corner1 and covered with cobwebs and    
dust4  ,this is pleasantly ridiculed in 
the well known exclamation1 ,deuce take 
the old fellows who gave utterance to   
our wit1 before we ever thought of it6  
,the greater part of the life of the    
mightiest genius that ever existed is   
spent in doing nothing1 and saying      
nothing4 ,pope has observed of          
,shakespear's plays1 that1 had all the  
speeches been printed without the names 
of the persons1 we might have applied   

them with certainty to every speaker4   
,to which another critic has rejoined1  
that that was impossible1 since the     
greater part of what every man says is  
unstamped with peculiarity4 ,we have all
 more in us of what belongs to the      
common nature of man1 than of what is   
peculiar to the individual4  ,it is from
 this beaten1 turnpike road1 that the   
favoured few of mankind are for ever    
exerting themselves to escape4 ,the     
multitude grow up1 and are carried away1
 as grass is carried away by the mower4 
,the parish-register tells when they    
were born1 and when they died3 known by 
the ends of being to have been4 ,we pass
 away1 and leave nothing behind4 ,kings1
 at whose very glance thousands have    
trembled1 for the most part serve for   
nothing when their breath has ceased1   
but as a sort of distance-posts in the  
race of chronology4 ,the dull swain     
treads on their relics with his clouted 
shoon4 ,our monuments are as perishable 
as ourselves2 and it is the most        

hopeless of all problems for the most   
part1 to tell where the mighty ones of  
the earth repose4  ,all men are aware of
 the frailty of life1 and how short is  
the span assigned us4 ,hence every one1 
who feels1 or thinks he feels the power 
to do so1 is desirous to embalm his     
memory1 and to be thought of by a late  
posterity1 to whom his personal presence
 shall be unknown4 ,mighty are the      
struggles2 everlasting the efforts4 ,the
 greater part of these we well know are 
in vain4 ,it is ,aesop's mountain in    
labour3 ,dire was the tossing1 deep the 
groans3 and the result is a mouse4 ,but 
is it always so8  ,this brings us back  
to the question3 ,is there indeed       
nothing new under the sun8  ,most       
certainly there is something that is    
new4 ,if1 as the beast dies1 so died    
man1 then indeed we should be without   
hope4 ,but it is his distinguishing     
faculty1 that he can leave something    
behind1 to testify that he has lived4   
,and this is not only true of the       

pyramids of ,egypt1 and certain other   
works of human industry1 that time seems
 to have no force to destroy4 ,it is    
often true of a single sentence1 a      
single word1 which the multitudinous sea
 is incapable of washing away3          
,quod non imber edax1 non ,aquilo       
impotens       ,possit diruere1 aut     
innumerabilis       ,annorum series1 et 
fuga temporum4   ,it is the             
characteristic of the mind and the heart
 of man1 that they are progressive4 ,one
 word1 happily interposed1 reaching to  
the inmost soul1 may take away the heart
 of stone1 and introduce a heart of     
flesh4 ,and1 if an individual may be    
thus changed1 then his children1 and his
 connections1 to the latest page of     
unborn history4  ,this is the true glory
 of man1 that one generation doth not   
pass away1 and another come1 velut unda 
supervenit undam2 but that we leave our 
improvements behind us4 ,what infinite  
ages of refinement on refinement1 and   
ingenuity on ingenuity1 seem each to    

have contributed its quota1 to make up  
the accommodations of every day of      
civilised man2 his table1 his chair1 the
 bed he lies on1 the food he eats1 the  
garments that cover him6 ,it has often  
been said1 that the four quarters of the
 world are put under contribution1 to   
provide the most moderate table4 ,to    
this what mills1 what looms1 what       
machinery of a thousand denominations1  
what ship-building1 what navigation1    
what fleets are required6 ,man seems to 
have been sent into the world a naked1  
forked1 helpless animal1 on purpose to  
call forth his ingenuity to supply the  
accommodations that may conduce to his  
well-being4 ,the saying1 that there is  
nothing new under the sun1 could never  
have been struck out1 but in one of the 
two extreme states of man1 by the naked 
savage1 or by the highly civilised      
beings among whom the perfection of     
refinement has produced an artificial   
feeling of uniformity4  ,the thing most 
obviously calculated to impress us with 

a sense of the power1 and the           
comparative sublimity of man1 is1 if we 
could make a voyage of some duration in 
a balloon1 over a considerable tract of 
the cultivated and the desert parts of  
the earth4 ,a brute can scarcely move a 
stone out of his way1 if it has fallen  
upon the couch where he would repose4   
,but man cultivates fields1 and plants  
gardens2 he constructs parks and canals2
 he turns the course of rivers1 and     
stretches vast artificial moles into the
 sea2 he levels mountains1 and builds a 
bridge1 joining in giddy height one     
segment of the ,alps to another2 lastly1
 he founds castles1 and churches1 and   
towers1 and distributes mighty cities at
 his pleasure over the face of the      
globe4 ,the first earth has passed away1
 and another earth has come2 and all    
things are made new4  ,it is true1 that 
the basest treacheries1 the most        
atrocious cruelties1 butcheries1        
massacres1 violations of all the        
restraints of decency1 and all the ties 

of nature1 fields covered with dead     
bodies1 and flooded with human gore1 are
 all of them vulgar repetitions of what 
had been acted countless times already4 
,if ,nero or ,caligula thought to       
perpetrate that which should stand      
unparalleled1 they fell into the        
grossest error4 ,the conqueror1 who     
should lay waste vast portions of the   
globe1 and destroy mighty cities1 so    
that thorns should come up in the       
palaces1 and nettles in the fortresses  
thereof1 and they should be a habitation
 of serpents1 and a court for owls1 and 
the wild beasts of the desert should    
meet there1 would only do what          
,tamerlane1 and ,aurengzebe1 and        
,zingis1 and a hundred other conquerors1
 in every age and quarter of the world1 
had done before4 ,the splendour of      
triumphs1 and the magnificence of       
courts1 are so essentially vulgar1 that 
history almost disdains to record them4 
,and yet there is something that is new1
 and that by the reader of discernment  

is immediately felt to be so4  ,we read 
of ,moses1 that he was a child of       
ordinary birth1 and1 when he was born1  
was presently marked1 as well as all the
 male children of his race1 for         
destruction4 ,he was unexpectedly       
preserved2 and his first act1 when he   
grew up1 was to slay an ,egyptian1 one  
of the race to whom all his countrymen  
were slaves1 and to fly into exile4     
,this man1 thus friendless and alone1 in
 due time returned1 and by the mere     
energy of his character prevailed upon  
his whole race to make common cause with
 him1 and to migrate to a region1 in    
which they should become sovereign and  
independent4 ,he had no soldiers1 but   
what were made so by the ascendancy of  
his spirit no counsellors but such as he
 taught to be wise1 no friends but those
 who were moved by the sentiment they   
caught from him4 ,the ,jews he commanded
 were sordid and low of disposition1    
perpetually murmuring against his rule1 
and at every unfavourable accident      

calling to remembrance the land of      
,egypt1 where they had sat by the       
fleshpots1 and were full4 ,yet over this
 race he retained a constant mastery1   
and finally made of them a nation whose 
customs and habits and ways of thinking 
no time has availed to destroy4 ,this   
was a man then1 that possessed the true 
secret to make other men his creatures1 
and lead them with an irresistible power
 wherever he pleased4 ,this history1    
taken entire1 has probably no parallel  
in the annals of the world4  ,the       
invasion of ,greece by the ,persians1   
and its result1 seem to constitute an   
event that stands alone among men4      
,xerxes led against this little         
territory an army of #e1bhj1jjj men4    
,they drank up rivers1 and cut their way
 through giant-mountains4 ,they were    
first stopped at ,thermopylae by        
,leonidas and his three hundred         
,spartans4 ,they fought for a country   
too narrow to contain the army by which 
the question was to be tried4 ,the      

contest was here to be decided between  
despotism and liberty1 whether there is 
a principle in man1 by which a handful  
of individuals1 pervaded with lofty     
sentiments1 and a conviction of what is 
of most worth in our nature1 can defy   
the brute force1 and put to flight the  
attack1 of bones1 joints and sinews1    
though congregated in multitudes1       
numberless as the waves of the sea1 or  
the sands on its shore4 ,the flood      
finally rolled back3 and in process of  
time ,alexander1 with these ,greeks whom
 the ignorance of the ,east affected to 
despise1 founded another universal      
monarchy on the ruins of ,persia4 ,this 
is certainly no vulgar history4         
,christianity is another of those       
memorable chapters in the annals of     
mankind1 to which there is probably no  
second4 ,the son of a carpenter in a    
little1 rocky country1 among a nation   
despised and enslaved1 undertook to     
reform the manners of the people of whom
 he was a citizen4 ,the reformation he  

preached was unpalatable to the leaders 
of the state2 he was persecuted2 and    
finally suffered the death reserved for 
the lowest malefactors1 being nailed to 
a cross4 ,he was cut off in the very    
beginning of his career1 before he had  
time to form a sect4 ,his immediate     
representatives and successors were     
tax-gatherers and fishermen4 ,what could
 be more incredible1 till proved by the 
event1 than that a religion thus begun1 
should have embraced in a manner the    
whole civilised world1 and that of its  
kingdom there should be no visible end8 
,this is a novelty in the history of the
 world1 equally if we consider it as    
brought about by the immediate          
interposition of the author of all      
things1 or regard it1 as some pretend to
 do1 as happening in the course of mere 
human events4  ,rome1 the eternal city1 
is likewise a subject that stands out   
from the vulgar history of the human    
race4 ,three times1 in three successive 
forms1 has she been the mistress of the 

world4 ,first1 by the purity1 the       
simplicity1 the single-heartedness1 the 
fervour and perseverance of her original
 character she qualified herself to     
subdue all the nations of mankind4      
,next1 having conquered the earth by her
 virtue and by the spirit of liberty1   
she was able to maintain her ascendancy 
for centuries under the emperors1       
notwithstanding all her astonishing     
profligacy and anarchy4 ,and1 lastly1   
after her secular ascendancy had been   
destroyed by the inroads of the northern
 barbarians1 she rose like the phoenix  
from her ashes1 and1 though powerless in
 material force1 held mankind in        
subjection by the chains of the mind1   
and the consummateness of her policy4   
,never was any thing so admirably       
contrived as the ,catholic religion1 to 
subdue the souls of men by the power of 
its worship over the senses1 and1 by its
 contrivances in auricular confession1  
purgatory1 masses for the dead1 and its 
claim magisterially to determine        

controversies1 to hold the subjects it  
had gained in everlasting submission4   
,the great principle of originality is  
in the soul of man4 ,and here again we  
may recur to ,greece1 the parent of all 
that is excellent in art4 ,painting1    
statuary1 architecture1 poetry1 in their
 most exquisite and ravishing forms1    
originated in this little province4 ,is 
not the ,iliad a thing new1 and that    
will for ever remain new8 ,whether it   
was written by one man1 as ,i believe1  
or1 as the levellers of human glory     
would have us think1 by many1 there it  
stands3 all the ages of the world       
present us nothing that can come in     
competition with it4  ,shakespear is    
another example of unrivalled           
originality4 ,his fame is like the      
giant-rivers of the world3 the further  
it flows1 the wider it spreads out its  
stream1 and the more marvellous is the  
power with which it sweeps along4  ,but1
 in reality1 all poetry and all art1    
that have a genuine claim to            

originality1 are new1 the smallest1 as  
well as the greatest4  ,it is the       
mistake of dull minds only1 to suppose  
that every thing has been said1 that    
human wit is exhausted1 and that we1 who
 have unfortunately fallen upon the     
dregs of time1 have no alternative left1
 but either to be silent1 or to say over
 and over again1 what has been well said
 already4  ,there remain yet immense    
tracts of invention1 the mines of which 
have been untouched4 ,we perceive       
nothing of the strata of earth1 and the 
hidden fountains of water1 that we      
travel over1 unconscious of the         
treasures that are immediately within   
our reach1 till some person1 endowed    
with the gift of a superior sagacity1   
comes into the country1 who appears to  
see through the opake and solid mass1 as
 we see through the translucent air1 and
 tells us of things yet undiscovered1   
and enriches us with treasures1 of which
 we had been hitherto entirely ignorant4
 ,the nature of the human mind1 and the 

capabilities of our species are in like 
manner a magazine of undiscovered       
things1 till some mighty genius comes to
 break the surface1 and shew us the     
wonderful treasures that lay beneath    
uncalled for and idle4  ,human character
 is like the contents of an ample       
cabinet1 brought together by the untired
 zeal of some curious collector1 who    
tickets his rarities with numbers1 and  
has a catalogue in many volumes1 in     
which are recorded the description and  
qualities of the things presented to our
 view4 ,among the most splendid examples
 of character which the genius of man   
has brought to light1 are ,don ,quixote 
and his trusty squire1 sir ,roger de    
,coverley1 ,parson ,adams1 ,walter      
,shandy and his brother ,toby4 ,who     
shall set bounds to the everlasting     
variety of nature1 as she has recorded  
her creations in the heart of man8 ,most
 of these instances are recent1 and     
sufficiently shew that the enterprising 
adventurer1 who would aspire to emulate 

the illustrious men from whose writings 
these examples are drawn1 has no cause  
to despair4  ,vulgar observers pass     
carelessly by a thousand figures in the 
crowded masquerade of human society1    
which1 when inscribed on the tablet by  
the pencil of a master1 would prove not 
less wondrous in the power of affording 
pleasure1 nor less rich as themes for   
inexhaustible reflection1 than the most 
admirable of these4 ,the things are     
there1 and all that is wanting is an eye
 to perceive1 and a pen to record them4 
,as to a great degree we may subscribe  
to the saying of the wise man1 that     
there is nothing new under the sun1 so  
in a certain sense it may also be       
affirmed that nothing is old4 ,both of  
these maxims may be equally true4 ,the  
prima materia1 the atoms of which the   
universe is composed1 is of a date      
beyond all record2 and the figures which
 have yet been introduced into the most 
fantastic chronology1 may perhaps be    
incompetent to represent the period of  

its birth4 ,but the ways in which they  
may be compounded are exhaustless4 ,it  
is like what the writers on the         
,doctrine of ,chances tell us of the    
throwing of dice4 ,how many men now     
exist on the face of the earth8 ,yet1 if
 all these were brought together1 and   
if1 in addition to this1 we could call  
up all the men that ever lived1 it may  
be doubted1 whether any two would be    
found so much alike1 that a             
clear-sighted and acute observer might  
not surely distinguish the one from the 
other4 ,leibnitz informs us1 that no two
 leaves of a tree exist in the most     
spacious garden1 that1 upon examination1
 could be pronounced perfectly          
similar7#ai74      7#ai7 ,see above1    
,essay #b4   ,the true question is not1 
whether any thing can be found that is  
new1 but whether the particulars in     
which any thing is new may not be so    
minute and trifling1 as scarcely to     
enter for any thing1 into that grand and
 comprehensive view of the whole1 in    

which matters of obvious insignificance 
are of no account4  ,but1 if art and the
 invention of the human mind are        
exhaustless1 science is even more       
notoriously so4 ,we stand but on the    
threshold of the knowledge of nature1   
and of the various ways in which        
physical power may be brought to operate
 for the accommodation of man4 ,this is 
a business that seems to be perpetually 
in progress2 and1 like the fall of      
bodies by the power of gravitation1     
appears to gain in momentum1 in         
proportion as it advances to a greater  
distance from the point at which the    
impulse was given4 ,the discoveries     
which at no remote period have been     
made1 would1 if prophesied of1 have been
 laughed to scorn by the ignorant       
sluggishness of former generations2 and 
we are equally ready to regard with     
incredulity the discoveries yet unmade1 
which will be familiar to our posterity4
 ,indeed every man of a capacious and   
liberal mind is willing to admit1 that  

the progress of human understanding in  
science1 which is now going on1 is      
altogether without any limits that by   
the most penetrating genius can be      
assigned4 ,it is like a mighty river1   
that flows on for ever and for ever1 as 
far as the words1 for ever1 can have a  
meaning to the comprehension of mortals4
 ,the question that remains is1 our     
practicable improvement in literature   
and morals1 and here those persons who  
entertain a mean opinion of human       
nature1 are constantly ready to tell us 
that it will be found to amount to      
nothing4 ,however we may be continually 
improving in mechanical knowledge and   
ingenuity1 we are assured by this party1
 that we shall never surpass what has   
already been done in poetry and         
literature1 and1 which is still worse1  
that1 however marvellous may be our     
future acquisitions in science and the  
application of science1 we shall be1 as 
much as ever1 the creatures of that     
vanity1 ostentation1 opulence and the   

spirit of exclusive accumulation1 which 
has hitherto1 in most countries 7not in 
all countries71 generated the glaring   
inequality of property1 and the         
oppression of the many for the sake of  
pampering the folly of the few4  ,there 
is another circumstance that may be     
mentioned1 which1 particularly as       
regards the question of repetition and  
novelty that is now under consideration1
 may seem to operate in an eminent      
degree in favour of science1 while it   
casts a most discouraging veil over     
poetry and the pure growth of human     
fancy and invention4 ,poetry is1 after  
all1 nothing more than new combinations 
of old materials4 ,nihil est in         
intellectu1 quod non fuit prius in      
sensu4 ,the poet has perhaps in all     
languages been called a maker1 a        
creator3 but this seems to be a         
vain-glorious and an empty boast4 ,he is
 a collector of materials only1 which he
 afterwards uses as best he may be able4
 ,he answers to the description ,i have 

heard given of a tailor1 a man who cuts 
to pieces whatever is delivered to him  
from the loom1 that he may afterwards   
sew it together again4 ,the poet        
therefore1 we may be told1 adds nothing 
to the stock of ideas and conceptions   
already laid up in the storehouse of    
mind4 ,but the man who is employed upon 
the secrets of nature1 is eternally in  
progress2 day after day he delivers in  
to the magazine of materials for        
thinking and acting1 what was not there 
before2 he increases the stock1 upon    
which human ingenuity and the arts of   
life are destined to operate4 ,he does  
not1 as the poet may be affirmed by his 
censurers to do1 travel for ever in a   
circle1 but continues to hasten towards 
a goal1 while at every interval we may  
mark how much further he has proceeded  
from the point at which his race began4 
,much may be said in answer to this1 and
 in vindication and honour of the poet  
and the artist4 ,all that is here       
alleged to their disadvantage1 is in    

reality little better than a sophism4   
,the consideration of the articles he   
makes use of1 does not in sound estimate
 detract from the glories of which he is
 the artificer4 ,materiem superat opus4 
,he changes the nature of what he       
handles2 all that he touches is turned  
into gold4 ,the manufacture he delivers 
to us is so new1 that the thing it      
previously was1 is no longer            
recognisable4 ,the impression that he   
makes upon the imagination and the      
heart1 the impulses that he communicates
 to the understanding and the moral     
feeling1 are all his own2 and1 if there 
is any thing lovely and of good report1 
if there is any virtue and any praise1  
he may well claim our applauses and our 
thankfulness for what he has effected4  
,there is a still further advantage that
 belongs to the poet and the votarist of
 polite literature1 which ought to be   
mentioned1 as strongly calculated to    
repress the arrogance of the men of     
science1 and the supercilious contempt  

they are apt to express for those who   
are engrossed by the pursuits of        
imagination and taste4 ,they are for    
ever talking of the reality and         
progressiveness of their pursuits1 and  
telling us that every step they take is 
a point gained1 and gained for the      
latest posterity1 while the poet merely 
suits himself to the taste of the men   
among whom he lives1 writes up to the   
fashion of the day1 and1 as our manners 
turn1 is sure to be swept away to the   
gulph of oblivion4 ,but how does the    
matter really stand8 ,it is to a great  
degree the very reverse of this4  ,the  
natural and experimental philosopher has
 nothing sacred and indestructible in   
the language and form in which he       
delivers truths4 ,new discoveries and   
experiments come1 and his individual    
terms and phrases and theories perish4  
,one race of natural philosophers does  
but prepare the way for another race1   
which is to succeed4 ,they blow the     
trumpet1 and give out the play4 ,and    

they must be contented to perish before 
the brighter knowledge1 of which their  
efforts were but the harbingers4 ,the   
,ptolemaic system gave way to ,tycho    
,brahe1 and his to that of ,copernicus4 
,the vortices of ,descartes perished    
before the discoveries of ,newton2 and  
the philosophy of ,newton already begins
 to grow old1 and is found to have weak 
and decaying parts mixed with those     
which are immortal and divine4 ,in the  
science of mind ,aristotle and ,plato   
are set aside2 the depth of             
,malebranche1 and the patient           
investigation of ,locke have had their  
day2 more penetrating1 and concise1 and 
lynx-eyed reasoners of our own country  
have succeeded2 the ,german             
metaphysicians seem to have thrust these
 aside2 and it perhaps needs no great   
degree of sagacity to foresee1 that     
,kant and ,fichte will at last fare no  
better than those that went before them4
  ,but the poet is immortal4 ,the verses
 of ,homer are of workmanship no less   

divine1 than the armour of his own      
,achilles4 ,his poems are as fresh and  
consummate to us now1 as they were to   
the ,greeks1 when the old man of ,chios 
wandered in person through the different
 cities1 rehearsing his rhapsodies to   
the accompaniment of his lute4 ,the     
language and the thoughts of the poet   
are inextricably woven together2 and the
 first is no more exposed to decay and  
to perish than the last4 ,presumptuous  
innovators have attempted to modernise  
,chaucer1 and ,spenser1 and other       
authors1 whose style was supposed to    
have grown obsolete4 ,but true taste    
cannot endure the impious mockery4 ,the 
very words that occurred to these men1  
when the ,god descended1 and a fire from
 heaven tingled in all their veins1 are 
sacred1 are part of themselves2 and you 
may as well attempt to preserve the man 
when you have deprived him of all his   
members1 as think to preserve the poet  
when you have taken away the words that 
he spoke4 ,no part of his glorious      

effusions must perish2 and the hairs of 
his head are all numbered4     ,,essay  
,,xi4 ,,of ,,self-,,love ,,and          
,,benevolence4  ,,no question has more  
memorably exercised the ingenuity of men
 who have speculated upon the structure 
of the human mind1 than that of the     
motives by which we are actuated in our 
intercourse with our fellow-creatures4  
,the dictates of a plain and            
unsophisticated understanding on the    
subject are manifest2 and they have been
 asserted in the broadest way by the    
authors of religion1 the reformers of   
mankind1 and all persons who have been  
penetrated with zeal and enthusiasm for 
the true interests of the race to which 
they belong4  ,the end of the           
commandment1 say the authors of the ,new
 ,testament1 is love4 ,this is the great
 commandment of the law1 ,thou shalt    
love thy maker with all thy heart2 and  
the second is like unto it1 ,thou shalt 
love thy neighbour as thyself4 ,though  
,i bestow all my goods to feed the poor1

 and give my body to be burned1 and have
 not love1 it profiteth me nothing4 ,for
 none of us liveth to himself2 and no   
man dieth to himself4  ,the sentiments  
of the ancient ,greeks and ,romans1 for 
so many centuries as their institutions 
retained their original purity1 were    
cast in a mould of a similar nature4 ,a 
,spartan was seldom alone2 they were    
always in society with each other4 ,the 
love of their country and of the public 
good was their predominant passion1 they
 did not imagine that they belonged to  
themselves1 but to the state4 ,after the
 battle of ,leuctra1 in which the       
,spartans were defeated by the ,thebans1
 the mothers of those who were slain    
congratulated one another1 and went to  
the temples to thank the ,gods1 that    
their children had done their duty2     
while the relations of those who        
survived the defeat were inconsolable4  
,the ,romans were not less distinguished
 by their self-denying patriotism4 ,it  
was in this spirit that ,brutus put his 

two sons to death for conspiring against
 their country4 ,it was in this spirit  
that the ,fabii perished at their fort  
on the ,cremera1 and the ,decii devoted 
themselves for the public4 ,the rigour  
of self-denial in a true ,roman         
approached to a temper which moderns are
 inclined to denominate savage4  ,in the
 times of the ancient republics the     
impulse of the citizens was to merge    
their own individuality in the interests
 of the state4 ,they held it their duty 
to live but for their country4 ,in this 
spirit they were educated2 and the      
lessons of their early youth regulated  
the conduct of their riper years4  ,in a
 more recent period we have learned to  
model our characters by a different     
standard4 ,we seldom recollect the      
society of which we are politically     
members1 as a whole1 but are broken into
 detached parties1 thinking only for the
 most part of ourselves and our         
immediate connections and attachments4  
,this change in the sentiments and      

manners of modern times has among its   
other consequences given birth to a new 
species of philosophy4 ,we have been    
taught to affirm1 that we can have no   
express and pure regard for our         
fellow-creatures1 but that all our      
benevolence and affection come to us    
through the strainers of a gross or a   
refined self-love4 ,the coarser         
adherents of this doctrine maintain1    
that mankind are in all cases guided by 
views of the narrowest self-interest1   
and that those who advance the highest  
claims to philanthropy1 patriotism1     
generosity and self-sacrifice1 are all  
the time deceiving others1 or deceiving 
themselves1 and use a plausible and     
high-sounding language merely1 that     
serves no other purpose than to veil    
from observation that hideous sight1 a  
naked human heart4  ,the more delicate  
and fastidious supporters of the        
doctrine of universal self-love1 take a 
different ground4 ,they affirm that such
 persons as talk to us of               

disinterestedness and pure benevolence1 
have not considered with sufficient     
accuracy the nature of mind1 feeling and
 will4 ,to understand1 they say1 is one 
thing1 and to choose another4 ,the      
clearest proposition that ever was      
stated1 has1 in itself1 no tendency to  
produce voluntary action on the part of 
the percipient4 ,it can be only         
something apprehended as agreeable or   
disagreeable to us1 that can operate so 
as to determine the will4 ,such is the  
law of universal nature4 ,we act from   
the impulse of our own desires and      
aversions2 and we seek to effect or     
avert a thing1 merely because it is     
viewed by us as an object of            
gratification or the contrary4  ,the    
virtuous man and the vicious are alike  
governed by the same principle2 and it  
is therefore the proper business of a   
wise instructor of youth1 and of a man  
who would bring his own sentiments and  
feelings into the most praise-worthy    
frame1 to teach us to find our interest 

and gratification in that which shall be
 most beneficial to others4  ,when we   
proceed to examine the truth of these   
statements1 it certainly is not strictly
 an argument to say1 that the advocate  
of self-love on either of these         
hypotheses cannot consistently be a     
believer in ,christianity1 or even a    
theist1 as theism is ordinarily         
understood4 ,the commandments of the    
author of the ,christian religion are1  
as we have seen1 purely disinterested3  
and1 especially if we admit the latter  
of the two explanations of self-love1 we
 shall be obliged to confess1 on the    
hypothesis of this new philosophy1 that 
the almighty author of the universe     
never acts in any of his designs either 
of creation or providence1 but from a   
principle of self-love4 ,in the mean    
time1 if this is not strictly an        
argument1 it is however but fair to warn
 the adherents of the doctrine ,i       
oppose1 of the consequences to which    
their theory leads4 ,it is my purpose to

 subvert that doctrine by means of the  
severest demonstration2 but ,i am not   
unwilling1 before ,i begin1 to          
conciliate1 as far as may be1 the       
good-will of my readers to the          
propositions ,i proceed to establish4   
,i will therefore further venture to    
add1 that1 upon the hypothesis of       
self-love1 there can be no such thing as
 virtue4 ,there are two circumstances   
required1 to entitle an action to be    
denominated virtuous4 ,it must have a   
tendency to produce good rather than    
evil to the race of man1 and it must    
have been generated by an intention to  
produce such good4 ,the most beneficent 
action that ever was performed1 if it   
did not spring from the intention of    
good to others1 is not of the nature of 
virtue4 ,virtue1 where it exists in any 
eminence1 is a species of conduct1      
modelled upon a true estimate of the    
good intended to be produced4 ,he that  
makes a false estimate1 and prefers a   
trivial and partial good to an important

 and comprehensive one1 is vicious7#bj74
      7#bj7 ,political ,justice1 ,book  
#aa1 ,chap4 ,,iv4   ,it is admitted on  
all hands1 that it is possible for a man
 to sacrifice his own existence to that 
of twenty others4 ,but the advocates of 
the doctrine of self-love must say1 that
 he does this that he may escape from   
uneasiness1 and because he could not    
bear to encounter the inward upbraiding 
with which he would be visited1 if he   
acted otherwise4 ,this in reality would 
change his action from an act of virtue 
to an act of vice4 ,so far as belongs to
 the real merits of the case1 his own   
advantage or pleasure is a very         
insignificant consideration1 and the    
benefit to be produced1 suppose to a    
world1 is inestimable4 ,yet he falsely  
and unjustly prefers the first1 and     
views the latter as trivial2 nay1       
separately taken1 as not entitled to the
 smallest regard4 ,if the dictates of   
impartial justice be taken into the     
account1 then1 according to the system  

of self-love1 the best action that ever 
was performed1 may1 for any thing we    
know1 have been the action1 in the whole
 world1 of the most exquisite and       
deliberate injustice4 ,nay1 it could not
 have been otherwise1 since it produced 
the greatest good1 and therefore was the
 individual instance1 in which the      
greatest good was most directly         
postponed to personal                   
gratification7#ba74 ,such is the spirit 
of the doctrine ,i undertake to refute4 
7#ba7 ,political ,justice1 ,book ,,iv1  
,chap4 ,x4   ,but man is not in truth so
 poor and pusillanimous a creature as   
this system would represent4  ,it is    
time however to proceed to the real     
merits of the question1 to examine what 
in fact is the motive which induces a   
good man to elect a generous mode of    
proceeding4  ,locke is the philosopher1 
who1 in writing on ,human               
,understanding1 has specially delivered 
the doctrine1 that uneasiness is the    
cause which determines the will1 and    

urges us to act4 ,he says7#bb71 ,the    
motive we have for continuing in the    
same state1 is only the present         
satisfaction we feel in it2 the motive  
to change is always some uneasiness3    
nothing setting us upon the change of   
state1 or upon any new action1 but some 
uneasiness4 ,this is the great motive   
that works on the mind4      7#bb7 ,book
 ,,ii1 ,chap4 ,,xxi1 ,sect4 #bi4   ,it  
is not my concern to enquire1 whether   
,locke by this statement meant to assert
 that self-love is the only principle of
 human action4 ,it has at any rate been 
taken to express the doctrine which ,i  
here propose to refute4  ,and1 in the   
first place1 ,i say1 that1 if our       
business is to discover the             
consideration entertained by the mind   
which induces us to act1 this tells us  
nothing4 ,it is like the case of the    
,indian philosopher7#bc71 who1 being    
asked what it was that kept the earth in
 its place1 answered1 that it was       
supported by an elephant1 and that      

elephant again rested on a tortoise4 ,he
 must be endowed with a slender portion 
of curiosity1 who1 being told that      
uneasiness is that which spurs on the   
mind to act1 shall rest satisfied with  
this explanation1 and does not proceed  
to enquire1 what makes us uneasy8       
7#bc7 ,locke on ,understanding1 ,book   
#aa1 ,chap4 ,,xiii1 ,sect4 #ai4   ,an   
explanation like this is no more        
instructive1 than it would be1 if1 when 
we saw a man walking1 or grasping a     
sword or a bludgeon1 and we enquired    
into the cause of this phenomenon1 any  
one should inform us that he walks1     
because he has feet1 and he grasps1     
because he has hands4  ,i could not     
commodiously give to my thoughts their  
present form1 unless ,i had been        
previously furnished with pens and      
paper4 ,but it would be absurd to say1  
that my being furnished with pens and   
paper1 is the cause of my writing this  
,essay on ,self-love and ,benevolence4  
,the advocates of self-love have1 very  

inartificially and unjustly1 substituted
 the abstract definition of a voluntary 
agent1 and made that stand for the      
motive by which he is prompted to act4  
,it is true1 that we cannot act without 
the impulse of desire or uneasiness2 but
 we do not think of that desire and     
uneasiness2 and it is the thing upon    
which the mind is fixed that constitutes
 our motive4 ,in the boundless variety  
of the acts1 passions and pursuits of   
human beings1 it is absurd on the face  
of it to say that we are all governed by
 one motive1 and that1 however          
dissimilar are the ends we pursue1 all  
this dissimilarity is the fruit of a    
single cause4  ,one man chooses         
travelling1 another ambition1 a third   
study1 a fourth voluptuousness and a    
mistress4 ,why do these men take so     
different courses8  ,because one is     
partial to new scenes1 new buildings1   
new manners1 and the study of character4
 ,because a second is attracted by the  
contemplation of wealth and power4      

,because a third feels a decided        
preference for the works of ,homer1 or  
,shakespear1 or ,bacon1 or ,euclid4     
,because a fourth finds nothing         
calculated to stir his mind in          
comparison with female beauty1 female   
allurements1 or expensive living4  ,each
 of these finds the qualities he likes1 
intrinsically in the thing he chooses4  
,one man feels himself strongly moved1  
and raised to extacy1 by the beauties of
 nature1 or the magnificence of         
architecture4 ,another is ravished with 
the divine excellencies of ,homer1 or of
 some other of the heroes of literature4
 ,a third finds nothing delights him so 
much as the happiness of others1 the    
beholding that happiness increased1 and 
seeing pain and oppression and sorrow   
put to flight4 ,the cause of these      
differences is1 that each man has an    
individual internal structure1 directing
 his partialities1 one man to one thing1
 and another to another4  ,few things   
can exceed the characters of human      

beings in variety4 ,there must be       
something abstractedly in the nature of 
mind1 which renders it accessible to    
these varieties4 ,for the present we    
will call it taste4 ,one man feels his  
spirits regaled with the sight of those 
things which constitute wealth1 another 
in meditating the triumphs of ,alexander
 or ,caesar1 and a third in viewing the 
galleries of the ,louvre4 ,not one of   
these thinks in the outset of           
appropriating these objects to himself2 
not one of them begins with aspiring to 
be the possessor of vast opulence1 or   
emulating the triumphs of ,caesar1 or   
obtaining in property the pictures and  
statues the sight of which affords him  
so exquisite delight4 ,even the admirer 
of female beauty1 does not at first     
think of converting this attractive     
object into a mistress1 but on the      
contrary desires1 like ,pygmalion1 that 
the figure he beholds might become his  
solace and companion1 because he had    
previously admired it for itself4  ,just

 so the benevolent man is an individual 
who finds a peculiar delight in         
contemplating the contentment1 the peace
 and heart's ease of other men1 and     
sympathises in no ordinary degree with  
their sufferings4 ,he rejoices in the   
existence and diffusion of human        
happiness1 though he should not have had
 the smallest share in giving birth to  
the thing he loves4 ,it is because such 
are his tastes1 and what above all      
things he prefers1 that he afterwards   
becomes distinguished by the benevolence
 of his conduct4  ,the reflex act of the
 mind1 which these new philosophers put 
forward as the solution of all human    
pursuits1 rarely presents itself but to 
the speculative enquirer in his closet4 
,the savage never dreams of it4 ,the    
active man1 engaged in the busy scenes  
of life1 thinks little1 and on rare     
occasions of himself1 but much1 and in a
 manner for ever1 of the objects of his 
pursuit4  ,some men are uniform in their
 character1 and from the cradle to the  

grave prefer the same objects that first
 awakened their partialities4 ,other men
 are inconsistent and given to change1  
are every thing by starts1 and nothing  
long4 ,still it is probable that1 in    
most cases1 he who performs an act of   
benevolence1 feels for the time that he 
has a peculiar delight in contemplating 
the good of his fellow-man4  ,the       
doctrine of the modern philosophers on  
this point1 is in many ways imbecil and 
unsound4 ,it is inauspicious to their   
creed1 that the reflex act of the mind  
is purely the affair of experience4 ,why
 did the liberal-minded man perform his 
first act of benevolence8 ,the answer of
 these persons ought to be1 because the 
recollection of a generous deed is a    
source of the truest delight4 ,but there
 is an absurdity on the face of this    
solution4  ,we do not experimentally    
know the delight which attends the      
recollection of a generous deed1 till a 
generous deed has been performed by us4 
,we do not learn these things from      

books4 ,and least of all is this        
solution to the purpose1 when the       
business is to find a solution that     
suits the human mind universally1 the   
unlearned as well as the learned1 the   
savage as well as the sage4  ,and surely
 it is inconsistent with all sound      
reasoning1 to represent that as the sole
 spring of our benevolent actions1 which
 by the very terms will not fit the     
first benevolent act in which any man   
engaged4  ,the advocates of the doctrine
 of self-love the source of all our     
actions1 are still more puzzled1 when   
the case set before them is that of the 
man1 who flies1 at an instant's warning1
 to save the life of the child who has  
fallen into the river1 or the           
unfortunate whom he beholds in the upper
 story of a house in flames4 ,this man1 
as might be illustrated in a thousand   
instances1 treats his own existence as  
unworthy of notice1 and exposes it to   
multiplied risks to effect the object to
 which he devotes himself4  ,they are   

obliged to say1 that this man           
anticipates the joy he will feel in the 
recollection of a noble act1 and the    
cutting and intolerable pain he will    
experience in the consciousness that a  
human being has perished1 whom it was in
 his power to save4 ,it is in vain that 
we tell them that1 without a moment's   
consideration1 he tore off his clothes1 
or plunged into the stream with his     
clothes on1 or rushed up a flaming      
stair-case4 ,still they tell us1 that he
 recollected what compunctious visitings
 would be his lot if he remained        
supine--he felt the sharpest uneasiness 
at sight of the accident before him1 and
 it was to get rid of that uneasiness1  
and not for the smallest regard to the  
unhappy being he has been the means to  
save1 that he entered on the hazardous  
undertaking4  ,uneasiness1 the knowledge
 of what inwardly passes in the mind1 is
 a thing not in the slightest degree    
adverted to but in an interval of       
leisure4 ,no2 the man here spoken of    

thinks of nothing but the object        
immediately before his eyes2 he adverts 
not at all to himself2 he acts only with
 an undeveloped1 confused and hurried   
consciousness that he may be of some    
use1 and may avert the instantly        
impending calamity4 ,he has scarcely    
even so much reflection as amounts to   
this4  ,the history of man1 whether     
national or individual1 and consequently
 the acts of human creatures which it   
describes1 are cast in another mould    
than that which the philosophy of       
self-love sets before us4 ,a topic that 
from the earliest accounts perpetually  
presents itself in the records of       
mankind1 is self-sacrifice1 parents     
sacrificing themselves for their        
children1 and children for their        
parents4 ,cimon1 the ,athenian1 yet in  
the flower of his youth1 voluntarily    
became the inmate of a prison1 that the 
body of his father might receive the    
honours of sepulture4 ,various and      
unquestionable are the examples of      

persons who have exposed themselves to  
destruction1 and even petitioned to die1
 that so they might save the lives of   
those1 whose lives they held dearer than
 their own4 ,life is indeed a thing1    
that is notoriously set at nothing by   
generous souls1 who have fervently      
devoted themselves to an overwhelming   
purpose4 ,there have been instances of  
persons1 exposed to all the horrors of  
famine1 where one has determined to     
perish by that slowest and most         
humiliating of all the modes of animal  
destruction1 that another1 dearer to him
 than life itself1 might1 if possible1  
be preserved4  ,what is the true        
explanation of these determinations of  
the human will8 ,is it1 that the person1
 thus consigning himself to death1 loved
 nothing but himself1 regarded only the 
pleasure he might reap1 or the          
uneasiness he was eager to avoid8 ,or1  
is it1 that he had arrived at the       
exalted point of self-oblivion1 and that
 his whole soul was penetrated and      

ingrossed with the love of those for    
whom he conceived so exalted a          
partiality8  ,this sentiment so truly   
forms a part of our nature1 that a      
multitude of absurd practices1 and a    
multitude of heart-rending fables1 have 
been founded upon the consciousness of  
man in different ages and nations1 that 
these modes of thinking form a          
constituent part of our common          
existence4 ,in ,india there was found a 
woman1 whose love to the deceased       
partner of her soul was so overwhelming1
 that she resolved voluntarily to perish
 on his funeral pile4 ,and this example 
became so fascinating and admirable1    
that1 by insensible degrees1 it grew    
into a national custom with the         
,hindoos1 that1 by a sort of voluntary  
constraint1 the widows of all men of a  
certain caste1 should consign themselves
 to the flames with the dead bodies of  
their husbands4 ,the story of ,zopyrus  
cutting off his nose and ears1 and of   
,curtius leaping into the gulph1 may be 

fictitious3 but it was the consciousness
 of those by whom these narratives were 
written that they drew their materials  
from the mighty store-house of the heart
 of man1 that prompted them to record   
them4 ,the institutions of clientship   
and clans1 so extensively diffused in   
different ages of the world1 rests upon 
this characteristic of our nature1 that 
multitudes of men may be trained and    
educated so1 as to hold their existence 
at no price1 when the life of the       
individual they were taught unlimitedly 
to reverence might be preserved1 or     
might be defended at the risk of their  
destruction4  ,the principal            
circumstance that divides our feelings  
for others from our feelings for        
ourselves1 and that gives1 to satirical 
observers1 and superficial thinkers1 an 
air of exclusive selfishness to the     
human mind1 lies in this1 that we can   
fly from others1 but cannot fly from    
ourselves4 ,while ,i am sitting by the  
bed-side of the sufferer1 while ,i am   

listening to the tale of his woes1 there
 is comparatively but a slight line of  
demarcation1 whether they are his       
sorrows or my own4 ,my sympathy is      
vehemently excited towards him1 and ,i  
feel his twinges and anguish in a most  
painful degree4 ,but ,i can quit his    
apartment and the house in which he     
dwells1 can go out in the fields1 and   
feel the fresh air of heaven fanning my 
hair1 and playing upon my cheeks4 ,this 
is at first but a very imperfect relief4
 ,his image follows me2 ,i cannot forget
 what ,i have heard and seen2 ,i even   
reproach myself for the mitigation ,i   
involuntarily experience4 ,but man is   
the creature of his senses4 ,i am every 
moment further removed1 both in time and
 place1 from the object that distressed 
me4 ,there he still lies upon the bed of
 agony3 but the sound of his complaint1 
and the sight of all that expresses his 
suffering1 are no longer before me4 ,a  
short experience of human life convinces
 us that we have this remedy always at  

hand 7,i am unhappy1 only while ,i      
please77#bd72 and we soon come therefore
 to anticipate the cure1 and so1 even   
while we are in the presence of the     
sufferer1 to feel that he and ourselves 
are not perfectly one4      7#bd7       
,douglas4   ,but with our own distempers
 and adversities it is altogether       
different4 ,it is this that barbs the   
arrow4 ,we may change the place of our  
local existence2 but we cannot go away  
from ourselves4 ,with chariots1 and     
embarking ourselves on board of ships1  
we may seek to escape from the enemy4   
,but grief and apprehension enter the   
vessel along with us2 and1 when we mount
 on horseback1 the discontent that      
specially annoyed us1 gets up behind1   
and clings to our sides with a hold     
never to be loosened7#be74      7#be7   
,horace4   ,is it then indeed a proof of
 selfishness1 that we are in a greater  
or less degree relieved from the anguish
 we endured for our friend1 when other  
objects occupy us1 and we are no longer 

the witnesses of his sufferings8 ,if    
this were true1 the same argument would 
irresistibly prove1 that we are the most
 generous of imaginable beings1 the most
 disregardful of whatever relates to    
ourselves4 ,is it not the first         
ejaculation of the miserable1 ,oh1 that 
,i could fly from myself8 ,oh1 for a    
thick1 substantial sleep6 ,what the     
desperate man hates is his own identity4
 ,but he knows that1 if for a few       
moments he loses himself in             
forgetfulness1 he will presently awake  
to all that distracted him4 ,he knows   
that he must act his part to the end1   
and drink the bitter cup to the dregs4  
,he can do none of these things by      
proxy4 ,it is the consciousness of the  
indubitable future1 from which we can   
never be divorced1 that gives to our    
present calamity its most fearful       
empire4 ,were it not for this great line
 of distinction1 there are many that    
would feel not less for their friend    
than for themselves4 ,but they are      

aware1 that his ruin will not make them 
beggars1 his mortal disease will not    
bring them to the tomb1 and that1 when  
he is dead1 they may yet be reserved for
 many years of health1 of consciousness 
and vigour4  ,the language of the       
hypothesis of self-love was well adapted
 to the courtiers of the reign of ,louis
 the ,fourteenth4 ,the language of      
disinterestedness was adapted to the    
ancient republicans in the purest times 
of ,sparta and ,rome4  ,but these       
ancients were not always disinterested2 
and the moderns are not always narrow1  
self-centred and cold4 ,the ancients    
paid1 though with comparative           
infrequency1 the tax imposed upon       
mortals1 and thought of their own       
gratification and ease2 and the moderns 
are not utterly disqualified for acts of
 heroic affection4  ,it is of great     
consequence that men should come to     
think correctly on this subject4 ,the   
most snail-blooded man that exists1 is  
not so selfish as he pretends to be4 ,in

 spite of all the indifference he       
professes towards the good of others1 he
 will sometimes be detected in a very   
heretical state of sensibility towards  
his wife1 his child or his friend2 he   
will shed tears at a tale of distress1  
and make considerable sacrifices of his 
own gratification for the relief of     
others4  ,but his creed is a pernicious 
one4 ,he who for ever thinks1 that his  
charity must begin at home1 is in great 
danger of becoming an indifferent       
citizen1 and of withering those feelings
 of philanthropy1 which in all sound    
estimation constitute the crowning glory
 of man4 ,he will perhaps have a        
reasonable affection towards what he    
calls his own flesh and blood1 and may  
assist even a stranger in a case of     
urgent distress4--,but it is dangerous  
to trifle with the first principles and 
sentiments of morality4 ,and this man   
will scarcely in any case have his mind 
prepared to hail the first dawnings of  
human improvement1 and to regard all    

that belongs to the welfare of his kind 
as parcel of his own particular estate4 
,the creed of self-love will always have
 a tendency to make us ,frenchmen in the
 frivolous part of that character1 and  
,dutchmen in the plodding and           
shopkeeping spirit of barter and sale4  
,there is no need that we should beat   
down the impulse of heroism in the human
 character1 and be upon our guard       
against the effervescences and excess of
 a generous sentiment4 ,one of the      
instructors of my youth was accustomed  
to say to his pupils1 ,do not be afraid 
to commit your thoughts to paper in all 
the fervour and glow of your first      
conception3 when you come to look at    
them the next day1 you will find this   
gone off to a surprising degree4 ,as    
this was no ill precept for literary    
composition1 even so in our actions and 
moral conduct we shall be in small      
danger of being too warm-hearted and too
 generous4  ,modern improvements in     
education are earnest in recommending to

 us the study of facts1 and that we     
should not waste the time of young      
persons upon the flights of imagination4
 ,but it is to imagination that we are  
indebted for our highest enjoyments2 it 
tames the ruggedness of uncivilised     
nature1 and is the never-failing        
associate of all the considerable       
advances of social man1 whether in      
throwing down the strong fences of      
intellectual slavery1 or in giving      
firmness and duration to the edifice of 
political freedom4  ,and who does not   
feel that every thing depends upon the  
creed we embrace1 and the discipline we 
exercise over our own souls8  ,the      
disciple of the theory of self-love1 if 
of a liberal disposition1 will          
perpetually whip himself forward with   
loose reins1 upon a spiritless ,pegasus1
 and say1 ,i will do generous things2 ,i
 will not bring into contempt the master
 ,i serve--though ,i am conscious all   
the while that this is but a delusion1  
and that1 however ,i brag of generosity1

 ,i do not set a step forward1 but      
singly for my own ends1 and my own      
gratification4 ,meanwhile1 this is all a
 forced condition of thought2 and the   
man who cherishes it1 will be           
perpetually falling back into the cold1 
heartless convictions he inwardly       
retains4 ,self-love is the unwholesome1 
infectious atmosphere in which he       
dwells2 and1 however he may seek to     
rise1 the wings of his soul will        
eternally be drawn downwards1 and he    
cannot be pervaded1 as he might have    
been1 with the free spirit of genuine   
philanthropy4 ,to be consistent1 he     
ought continually to grow colder and    
colder2 and the romance1 which fired his
 youth1 and made him forget the venomous
 potion he had swallowed1 will fade away
 in age1 rendering him careless of all  
but himself1 and indifferent to the     
adversity and sufferings of all of whom 
he hears1 and all with whom he is       
connected4  ,on the other hand1 the man 
who has embraced the creed of           

disinterested benevolence1 will know    
that it is not his fitting element to   
live for himself1 or to die for himself4
 ,whether he is under the dominion of   
family-affection1 friendship1           
patriotism1 or a zeal for his brethren  
of mankind1 he will feel that he is at  
home4 ,the generous man therefore looks 
forward to the time when the chilling   
and wretched philosophy of the reign of 
,louis the ,fourteenth shall be         
forgotten1 and a fervent desire for the 
happiness and improvement of the human  
species shall reign in all hearts4  ,i  
am not especially desirous of sheltering
 my opinions under the authority of     
great names3 but1 in a question of such 
vital importance to the true welfare of 
men in society1 no fair advantage should
 be neglected4 ,the author of the system
 of self-love the source of all our     
actions was ,la ,rochefoucault2 and the 
whole herd of the ,french philosophers  
have not been ashamed to follow in the  
train of their vaunted master4 ,i am    

grieved to say1 that1 as ,i think1 the  
majority of my refining and subtilising 
countrymen of the present day have      
enlisted under his banner4 ,but the more
 noble and generous view of the subject 
has been powerfully supported by        
,shaftesbury1 ,butler1 ,hutcheson and   
,hume4 ,on the last of these ,i         
particularly pique myself2 inasmuch as1 
though he became naturalised as a       
,frenchman in a vast variety of topics1 
the greatness of his intellectual powers
 exempted him from degradation in this4 
,that however which ,i would chiefly    
urge in the way of authority1 is the    
thing mentioned in the beginning of this
 ,essay1 ,i mean1 the sentiments that   
have animated the authors of religion1  
that characterise the best ages of      
,greece and ,rome1 and that in all cases
 display themselves when the loftiest   
and most generous sentiments of the     
heart are called into action4 ,the      
opposite creed could only have been     
engendered in the dregs of a corrupt and

 emasculated court2 and human nature    
will never shew itself what it is       
capable of being1 till the last remains 
of a doctrine1 invented in the latter   
part of the seventeenth century1 shall  
have been consigned to the execration   
they deserve4     ,,essay ,,xii4 ,,of   
,,the ,,liberty ,,of ,,human ,,actions4 
,the question1 which has been attended  
with so long and obstinate debates1     
concerning the metaphysical doctrines of
 liberty and necessity1 and the freedom 
of human actions1 is not even yet       
finally and satisfactorily settled4     
,the negative is made out by an argument
 which seems to amount to demonstration1
 that every event requires a cause1 a   
cause why it is as it is and not        
otherwise1 that the human will is guided
 by motives1 and is consequently always 
ruled by the strongest motive1 and that 
we can never choose any thing1 either   
without a motive of preference1 or in   
the way of following the weaker1 and    
deserting the stronger motive7#bf74     

7#bf7 ,political ,justice1 ,book ,,iv1  
,chap4 ,,vii4   ,why is it then that    
disbelief or doubt should still subsist 
in a question so fully decided8  ,for   
the same reason that compels us to      
reject many other demonstrations4 ,the  
human mind is so constituted as to      
oblige us1 if not theoretically1 at     
least practically1 to reject            
demonstration1 and adhere to our senses4
  ,the case is thus in the great        
question of the non-existence of an     
external world1 or of matter4 ,how ever 
much the understanding may be satisfied 
of the truth of the proposition by the  
arguments of ,berkeley and others1 we no
 sooner go out into actual life1 than we
 become convinced1 in spite of our      
previous scepticism or unbelief1 of the 
real existence of the table1 the chair1 
and the objects around us1 and of the   
permanence and reality of the persons1  
both body and mind1 with whom we have   
intercourse4 ,if we were not1 we should 
soon become indifferent to their        

pleasure and pain1 and in no long time  
reason ourselves into the opinion that  
the one was not more desirable than the 
other1 and conduct ourselves            
accordingly4  ,but there is a great     
difference between the question of a    
material world1 and the question of     
liberty and necessity4 ,the most        
strenuous ,berkleian can never say1 that
 there is any contradiction or          
impossibility in the existence of       
matter4 ,all that he can consistently   
and soberly maintain is1 that1 if the   
material world exists1 we can never     
perceive it1 and that our sensations1   
and trains of impressions and thinking  
go on wholly independent of that        
existence4  ,but the question of the    
freedom of human actions is totally of  
another class4 ,to say that in our      
choice we reject the stronger motive1   
and that we choose a thing merely       
because we choose it1 is sheer nonsense 
and absurdity2 and whoever with a sound 
understanding will fix his mind upon the

 state of the question will perceive its
 impossibility4  ,in the mean time it is
 not less true1 that every man1 the     
necessarian as well as his opponent1    
acts on the assumption of human liberty1
 and can never for a moment1 when he    
enters into the scenes of real life1    
divest himself of this persuasion4  ,let
 us take separately into our            
consideration the laws of matter and of 
mind4 ,we acknowledge generally in both 
an established order of antecedents and 
consequents1 or of causes and effects4  
,this is the sole foundation of human   
prudence and of all morality4 ,it is    
because we foresee that certain effects 
will follow from a certain mode of      
conduct1 that we act in one way rather  
than another4 ,it is because we foresee 
that1 if the soil is prepared in a      
certain way1 and if seed is properly    
scattered and covered up in the soil    
thus prepared1 a crop will follow1 that 
we engage in the labours of agriculture4
 ,in the same manner1 it is because we  

foresee that1 if lessons are properly   
given1 and a young person has them      
clearly explained to him1 certain       
benefits will result1 and because we are
 apprised of the operation of           
persuasion1 admonition1 remonstrance1   
menace1 punishment and reward1 that we  
engage in the labours of education4 ,all
 the studies of the natural philosopher 
and the chemist1 all our journeys by    
land and our voyages by sea1 and all the
 systems and science of government1 are 
built upon this principle1 that from a  
certain method of proceeding1 regulated 
by the precepts of wisdom and           
experience1 certain effects may be      
expected to follow4  ,yet1 at the same  
time that we admit of a regular series  
of cause and effect in the operations   
both of matter and mind1 we never fail1 
in our reflections upon each1 to ascribe
 to them an essential difference4 ,in   
the laws by which a falling body        
descends to the earth1 and by which the 
planets are retained in their orbits1 in

 a word1 in all that relates to         
inanimate nature1 we readily assent to  
the existence of absolute laws1 so that1
 when we have once ascertained the      
fundamental principles of astronomy and 
physics1 we rely with perfect assurance 
upon the invariable operation of these  
laws1 yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever4  
,as long as the system of things1 of    
which we are spectators1 and in which we
 act our several parts1 shall remain1 so
 long have the general phenomena of     
nature gone on unchanged for more years 
of past ages than we can define1 and    
will in all probability continue to     
operate for as many ages to come4 ,we   
admit of no variation1 but firmly       
believe that1 if we were perfectly      
acquainted with all the causes1 we      
could1 without danger of error1 predict 
all the effects4 ,we are satisfied that1
 since first the machine of the universe
 was set going1 every thing in inanimate
 nature has taken place in a regular    
course1 and nothing has happened and can

 happen1 otherwise than as it actually  
has been and will be4  ,but we believe1 
or1 more accurately speaking1 we feel1  
that it is otherwise in the universe of 
mind4 ,whoever attentively observes the 
phenomena of thinking and sentient      
beings1 will be convinced1 that men and 
animals are under the influence of      
motives1 that we are subject to the     
predominance of the passions1 of love   
and hatred1 of desire and aversion1 of  
sorrow and joy1 and that the elections  
we make are regulated by impressions    
supplied to us by these passions4 ,but  
we are fully penetrated with the notion1
 that mind is an arbiter1 that it sits  
on its throne1 and decides1 as an       
absolute prince1 this may or that2 in   
short1 that1 while inanimate nature     
proceeds passively in an eternal chain  
of cause and effect1 mind is endowed    
with an initiating power1 and forms its 
determinations by an inherent and       
indefeasible prerogative4  ,hence arises
 the idea of contingency relative to the

 acts of living and sentient beings1 and
 the opinion that1 while1 in the        
universe of matter1 every thing proceeds
 in regular course1 and nothing has     
happened or can happen1 otherwise than  
as it actually has been or will be1 in  
the determinations and acts of living   
beings each occurrence may be or not be1
 and waits the mastery of mind to decide
 whether the event shall be one way or  
the other1 both issues being equally    
possible till that decision has been    
made4  ,thus1 as was said in the        
beginning1 we have demonstration1 all   
the powers of our reasoning faculty1 on 
one side1 and the feeling1 of our minds1
 an inward persuasion of which with all 
our efforts we can never divest         
ourselves1 on the other4 ,this          
phenomenon in the history of every human
 creature1 had aptly enough been        
denominated1 the delusive sense of      
liberty7#bg74      7#bg7 ,the first     
writer1 by whom this proposition was    
distinctly enunciated1 seems to have    

been ,lord ,kaimes1 in his ,essays on   
the ,principles of ,morality and        
,natural ,religion1 published in #agea4 
,but this ingenious author was          
afterwards frightened with the boldness 
of his own conclusions1 and in the      
subsequent editions of his work         
endeavoured ineffectually to explain    
away what he had said4   ,and1 though   
the philosopher in his closet will for  
the most part fully assent to the       
doctrine of the necessity of human      
actions1 yet this indestructible feeling
 of liberty1 which accompanies us from  
the cradle to the grave1 is entitled to 
our serious attention1 and has never    
obtained that consideration from the    
speculative part of mankind1 which must 
by no means be withheld1 if we would    
properly enter into the mysteries of our
 nature4 ,the necessarian has paid it   
very imperfect attention to the impulses
 which form the character of man1 if he 
omits this chapter in the history of    
mind1 while on the other hand the       

advocate of free will1 if he would      
follow up his doctrine rigorously into  
all its consequences1 would render all  
speculations on human character and     
conduct superfluous1 put an end to the  
system of persuasion1 admonition1       
remonstrance1 menace1 punishment and    
reward1 annihilate the very essence of  
civil government1 and bring to a close  
all distinction between the sane person 
and the maniac4  ,with the disciples of 
the latter of these doctrines ,i am by  
no means specially concerned4 ,i am     
fully persuaded1 as far as the powers of
 my understanding can carry me1 that the
 phenomena of mind are governed by laws 
altogether as inevitable as the         
phenomena of matter1 and that the       
decisions of our will are always in     
obedience to the impulse of the         
strongest motive4  ,the consequences of 
the principle implanted in our nature1  
by which men of every creed1 when they  
descend into the scene of busy life1    
pronounce themselves and their          

fellow-mortals to be free agents1 are   
sufficiently memorable4  ,from hence    
there springs what we call conscience in
 man1 and a sense of praise or blame due
 to ourselves and others for the actions
 we perform4  ,how poor1 listless and   
unenergetic would all our performances  
be1 but for this sentiment6 ,it is in   
vain that ,i should talk to myself or   
others1 of the necessity of human       
actions1 of the connection between cause
 and effect1 that all industry1 study   
and mental discipline will turn to      
account1 and this with infinitely more  
security on the principle of necessity1 
than on the opposite doctrine1 every    
thing ,i did would be without a soul4 ,i
 should still say1 ,whatever ,i may do1 
whether it be right or wrong1 ,i cannot 
help it2 wherefore then should ,i       
trouble the master-spirit within me8 ,it
 is either the calm feeling of          
self-approbation1 or the more animated  
swell of the soul1 the quick beatings of
 the pulse1 the enlargement of the      

heart1 the glory sparkling in the eye1  
and the blood flushing into the cheek1  
that sustains me in all my labours4     
,this turns the man into what we        
conceive of a ,god1 arms him with       
prowess1 gives him a more than human    
courage1 and inspires him with a        
resolution and perseverance that nothing
 can subdue4  ,in the same manner the   
love or hatred1 affection or alienation1
 we entertain for our fellow-men1 is    
mainly referable for its foundation to  
the delusive sense of liberty4 ,we      
approve of a sharp knife rather than a  
blunt one1 because its capacity is      
greater4 ,we approve of its being       
employed in carving food1 rather than in
 maiming men or other animals1 because  
that application of its capacity is     
preferable4 ,but all approbation or     
preference is relative to utility or    
general good4 ,a knife is as capable as 
a man1 of being employed in purposes of 
utility2 and the one is no more free    
than the other as to its employment4    

,the mode in which a knife is made      
subservient to these purposes1 is by    
material impulse4 ,the mode in which a  
man is made subservient1 is by          
inducement and persuasion4 ,but both are
 equally the affair of necessity7#bh74  
,these are the sentiments dictated to us
 by the doctrine of the necessity of    
human actions4      7#bh7 ,political    
,justice1 ,book ,,iv1 ,chap4 ,,viii4    
,but how different are the feelings that
 arise within us1 as soon as we enter   
into the society of our                 
fellow-creatures6 ,the end of the       
commandment is love4 ,it is the going   
forth of the heart towards those to whom
 we are bound by the ties of a common   
nature1 affinity1 sympathy or worth1    
that is the luminary of the moral world4
 ,without it there would have been a    
huge eclipse of sun and moon2 or at     
best1 as a well-known writer7#bi7       
expresses it in reference to another    
subject1 we should have lived in a      
silent and drab-coloured creation4 ,we  

are prepared by the power that made us  
for feelings and emotions2 and1 unless  
these come to diversify and elevate our 
existence1 we should waste our days in  
melancholy1 and scarcely be able to     
sustain ourselves4 ,the affection we    
entertain for those towards whom our    
partiality and kindness are excited1 is 
the life of our life4 ,it is to this we 
are indebted for all our refinement1    
and1 in the noblest sense of the word1  
for all our humanity4 ,without it we    
should have had no sentiment 7a word1   
however abused1 which1 when properly    
defined1 comprises every thing that is  
the crown of our nature71 and no        
poetry4--,love and hatred1 as they      
regard our fellow-creatures1 in         
contradistinction to the complacency1 or
 the feeling of an opposite nature1     
which is excited in us towards inanimate
 objects1 are entirely the offspring of 
the delusive sense of liberty4          
7#bi7 ,thomas ,paine4   ,the terms1     
praise and blame1 express to a great    

degree the same sentiments as those of  
love and hatred1 with this difference1  
that praise and blame in their simplest 
sense apply to single actions1 whereas  
love and hatred are produced in us by   
the sum of those actions or tendencies1 
which constitute what we call character4
 ,there is also another difference1 that
 love and hatred are engendered in us by
 other causes as well as moral          
qualities2 but praise and blame1 in the 
sense in which they are peculiarly      
applied to our fellow-mortals1 are      
founded on moral qualities only4 ,in    
love and hatred however1 when they are  
intense or are lasting1 some reference  
to moral qualities is perhaps           
necessarily implied4 ,the love between  
the sexes1 unless in cases where it is  
of a peculiarly transient nature1 always
 comprises in it a belief that the party
 who is the object of our love1 is      
distinguished by tendencies of an       
amiable nature1 which we expect to see  
manifesting themselves in affectionate  

attentions and acts of kindness4 ,even  
the admiration we entertain for the     
features1 the figure1 and personal      
graces of the object of our regard1 is  
mixed with and heightened by our        
expectation of actions and tones that   
generate approbation1 and1 if divested  
of this1 would be of small signification
 or permanence4 ,in like manner in the  
ties of affinity1 or in cases where we  
are impelled by the consideration1 ,he  
also is a man as well as ,i1 the        
excitement will carry us but a little   
way1 unless we discover in the being    
towards whom we are moved some          
peculiarities which may beget a moral   
partiality and regard4  ,and1 as towards
 our fellow-creatures1 so in relation to
 ourselves1 our moral sentiments are all
 involved with1 and take their rise in1 
the delusive sense of liberty4 ,it is in
 this that is contained the peculiar    
force of the terms virtue1 duty1 guilt  
and desert4 ,we never pronounce these   
words without thinking of the action to 

which they refer1 as that which might or
 might not be done1 and therefore       
unequivocally approve or disapprove in  
ourselves and others4 ,a virtuous man1  
as the term is understood by all1 as    
soon as we are led to observe upon those
 qualities1 and the exhibition of those 
qualities in actual life1 which         
constitute our nature1 is a man who1    
being in full possession of the freedom 
of human action1 is engaged in doing    
those things which a sound judgment of  
the tendencies of what we do pronounces 
to be good4  ,duty is a term that can   
scarcely be said to have a meaning1     
except that which it derives from the   
delusive sense of liberty4 ,according to
 the creed of the necessarian1 it       
expresses that mode of action on the    
part of the individual1 which           
constitutes the best possible           
application of his capacity to the      
general benefit7#cj74 ,in the mean time1
 if we confine ourselves to this        
definition1 it may as well be taken to  

describe the best application of a      
knife1 or any other implement proceeding
 from the hands of the manufacturer1 as 
of the powers of a human being4  ,but we
 surely have a very different idea in   
our minds1 when we employ the term duty4
 ,it is not agreeable to the use of     
language that we should use this term1  
except we speak of a being in the       
exercise of volition4      7#cj7        
,political ,justice1 ,book ,,ii1 ,chap4 
,,iv4   ,duty then means that which may 
justly be required of a human creature  
in the possession of liberty of action4 
,it includes in its proper sense the    
conception of the empire of will1 the   
notion that mind is an arbiter1 that it 
sits on its throne1 and decides1 as an  
absolute prince1 this way or that4      
,duty is the performance of what is due1
 the discharge of a debt 7debitum74 ,but
 a knife owes nothing1 and can in no    
sense be said to be held to one sort of 
application rather than another2 the    
debt can only belong to a human being in

 possession of his liberty1 by whom the 
knife may be applied laudably or        
otherwise4  ,a multitude of terms       
instantly occur to us1 the application  
of which is limited in the same manner  
as the term duty is limited3 such are1  
to owe1 obligation1 debt1 bond1 right1  
claim1 sin1 crime1 guilt1 merit and     
desert4 ,even reward and punishment1    
however they may be intelligible when   
used merely in the sense of motives     
employed1 have in general acceptation a 
sense peculiarly derived from the       
supposed freedom of the human will4     
,the mode therefore in which the        
advocates of the doctrine of necessity  
have universally talked and written1 is 
one of the most memorable examples of   
the hallucination of the human          
intellect4 ,they have at all times      
recommended that we should translate the
 phrases in which we usually express    
ourselves on the hypothesis of liberty1 
into the phraseology of necessity1 that 
we should talk no other language than   

that which is in correspondence with the
 severest philosophy1 and that we should
 exert ourselves to expel all fallacious
 notions and delusions so much as from  
our recollection4 ,they did not perceive
 what a wide devastation and destruction
 they were proposing of all the terms   
and phrases that are in use in the      
communications between man and man in   
actual life4--,they might as well have  
recommended that we should rigorously   
bear in mind on the ordinary occasions  
of life1 that there is no such thing as 
colour1 that which we ordinary call by  
that name having no existence in        
external objects1 but belonging only to 
our way of perceiving them4  ,the       
language which is suggested to us by the
 conception of the freedom of human     
actions1 moulds the very first          
articulations of a child1 ,i will1 and  
,i will not2 and is even distinctly     
conveyed by his gestures1 before he     
arrives at the power of articulation4   
,this is the explanation and key to his 

vehement and ungovernable movements1 and
 his rebellion4 ,the petulance of the   
stripling1 the fervent and energetic    
exertions of the warrior1 and the calm  
and unalterable resolution of the sage1 
all imply the same thing4 ,will1 and a  
confidence in its efficiency1 travel    
through1 nor quit us till we die4 ,it is
 this which inspires us with invincible 
perseverance1 and heroic energies1 while
 without it we should be the most inert 
and soulless of blocks1 the shadows of  
what history records and poetry         
immortalises1 and not men4  ,free will  
is an integral part of the science of   
man1 and may be said to constitute its  
most important chapter4 ,we might with  
as much propriety overlook the          
intelligence of the senses1 that medium 
which acquaints us with an external     
world or what we call such1 we might as 
well overlook the consideration of man's
 reason1 his imagination or taste1 as   
fail to dwell with earnest reflection   
and exposition upon that principle which

 lies at the foundation of our moral    
energies1 fills us with a moral         
enthusiasm1 prompts all our animated    
exertions on the theatre of the world1  
whether upon a wide or a narrow scale1  
and penetrates us with the most lively  
and fervent approbation or              
disapprobation of the acts of ourselves 
and others in which the forwarding or   
obstructing human happiness is involved4
  ,but1 though the language of the      
necessarian is at war with the          
indestructible feelings of the human    
mind1 and though his demonstrations will
 for ever crumble into dust1 when       
brought to the test of the activity of  
real life1 yet his doctrines1 to the    
reflecting and enlightened1 will by no  
means be without their use4 ,in the     
sobriety of the closet1 we inevitably   
assent to his conclusions2 nor is it    
easy to conceive how a rational man and 
a philosopher abstractedly can entertain
 a doubt of the necessity of human      
actions4 ,and the number of these       

persons is perpetually increasing2      
enlarged and dispassionate views of the 
nature of man and the laws of the       
universe are rapidly spreading in the   
world4 ,we cannot indeed divest         
ourselves of love and hatred1 of the    
sentiments of praise and blame1 and the 
ideas of virtue1 duty1 obligation1 debt1
 bond1 right1 claim1 sin1 crime1 guilt1 
merit and desert4 ,and1 if we could do  
so1 the effects would be most           
pernicious1 and the world be rendered a 
blank4 ,we shall however unquestionably1
 as our minds grow enlarged1 be brought 
to the entire and unreserved conviction1
 that man is a machine1 that he is      
governed by external impulses1 and is to
 be regarded as the medium only through 
the intervention of which previously    
existing causes are enabled to produce  
certain effects4 ,we shall see1         
according to an expressive phrase1 that 
he could not help it1 and1 of           
consequence1 while we look down from the
 high tower of philosophy upon the scene

 of human affairs1 our prevailing       
emotion will be pity1 even towards the  
criminal1 who1 from the qualities he    
brought into the world1 and the various 
circumstances which act upon him from   
infancy1 and form his character1 is     
impelled to be the means of the evils1  
which we view with so profound          
disapprobation1 and the existence of    
which we so entirely regret4  ,there is 
an old axiom of philosophy1 which       
counsels us to think with the learned1  
and talk with the vulgar2 and the       
practical application of this axiom runs
 through the whole scene of human       
affairs4 ,thus the most learned         
astronomer talks of the rising and      
setting of the sun1 and forgets in his  
ordinary discourse that the earth is not
 for ever at rest1 and does not         
constitute the centre of the universe4  
,thus1 however we reason respecting the 
attributes of inanimate matter and the  
nature of sensation1 it never occurs to 
us1 when occupied with the affairs of   

actual life1 that there is no heat in   
fire1 and no colour in the rainbow4  ,in
 like manner1 when we contemplate the   
acts of ourselves and our neighbours1 we
 can never divest ourselves of the      
delusive sense of the liberty of human  
actions1 of the sentiment of conscience1
 of the feelings of love and hatred1 the
 impulses of praise and blame1 and the  
notions of virtue1 duty1 obligation1    
right1 claim1 guilt1 merit and desert4  
,and it has sufficiently appeared in the
 course of this ,essay1 that it is not  
desirable that we should do so4 ,they   
are these ideas to which the world we   
live in is indebted for its crowning    
glory and greatest lustre4 ,they form   
the highest distinction between men and 
other animals1 and are the genuine basis
 of self-reverence1 and the conceptions 
of true nobility and greatness1 and the 
reverse of these attributes1 in the men 
with whom we live1 and the men whose    
deeds are recorded in the never-dying   
page of history4  ,but1 though the      

doctrine of the necessity of human      
actions can never form the rule of our  
intercourse with others1 it will still  
have its use4 ,it will moderate our     
excesses1 and point out to us that      
middle path of judgment which the       
soundest philosophy inculcates4 ,we     
shall learn1 according to the apostolic 
precept1 to be angry1 and sin not1      
neither let the sun go down upon our    
wrath4 ,we shall make of our fellow-men 
neither idols to worship1 nor demons to 
be regarded with horror and execration4 
,we shall think of them1 as of players1 
that strut and fret their hour upon the 
stage1 and then are heard no more4 ,we  
shall weep1 as though we wept not1 and  
rejoice1 as though we rejoiced not1     
seeing that the fashion of this world   
passeth away4 ,and1 most of all1 we     
shall view with pity1 even with         
sympathy1 the men whose frailties we    
behold1 or by whom crimes are           
perpetrated1 satisfied that they are    
parts of one great machine1 and1 like   

ourselves1 are driven forward by        
impulses over which they have no real   
control4     ,,essay ,,xiii4 ,,of       
,,belief4  ,one of the prerogatives by  
which man is eminently distinguished    
from all other living beings inhabiting 
this globe of earth1 consists in the    
gift of reason4  ,beasts reason4 ,they  
are instructed by experience2 and1      
guided by what they have already known  
of the series of events1 they infer from
 the sense of what has gone before1 an  
assured expectation of what is to       
follow4 ,hence1 beast walks with man1   
joint tenant of the shade2 and their    
sagacity is in many instances more      
unerring than ours1 because they have no
 affectation to mislead them2 they      
follow no false lights1 no glimmering   
intimation of something                 
half-anticipating a result1 but trust to
 the plain1 blunt and obvious dictates  
of their simple apprehension4 ,this     
however is but the first step in the    
scale of reason1 and is in strictness   

scarcely entitled to the name4  ,we set 
off from the same point from which they 
commence their career4 ,but the faculty 
of articulate speech comes in1 enabling 
us to form the crude elements of reason 
and inference into a code4 ,we digest   
explanations of things1 assigning the   
particulars in which they resemble other
 classes1 and the particulars by which  
they are distinguished from whatever    
other classes have fallen under our     
notice4 ,we frame propositions1 and1    
detaching ourselves from the immediate  
impressions of sense1 proceed to        
generalities1 which exist only1 in a way
 confused1 and not distinctly adverted  
to1 in the conceptions of the animal    
creation4  ,it is thus that we arrive at
 science1 and go forward to those       
subtleties1 and that perspicuity of     
explanation1 which place man in a       
distinct order of being1 leaving all the
 other inhabitants of earth at an       
immeasurable distance below him4 ,it is 
thus that we communicate our discoveries

 to each other1 and hand down the       
knowledge we have acquired1 unimpaired  
and entire1 through successive ages1 and
 to generations yet unborn4  ,but in    
certain respects we pay a very high     
price for this distinction4 ,it is to it
 that we must impute all the follies1   
extravagances and hallucinations of     
human intellect4 ,there is nothing so   
absurd that some man has not affirmed1  
rendering himself the scorn and         
laughing-stock of persons of sounder    
understanding4 ,and1 which is worst1 the
 more ridiculous and unintelligible is  
the proposition he has embraced1 the    
more pertinaciously does he cling to it2
 so that creeds the most outrageous and 
contradictory have served as the        
occasion or pretext for the most        
impassioned debates1 bloody wars1       
inhuman executions1 and all that most   
deeply blots and dishonours the name of 
man--while often1 the more evanescent   
and frivolous are the distinctions1 the 
more furious and inexpiable have been   

the contentions they have produced4     
,the result of the whole1 in the vast   
combinations of men into tribes and     
nations1 is1 that thousands and millions
 believe1 or imagine they believe1      
propositions and systems1 the terms of  
which they do not fully understand1 and 
the evidence of which they have not     
considered4 ,they believe1 because so   
their fathers believed before them4 ,no 
phrase is more commonly heard than1 ,i  
was born a ,christian2 ,i was born a    
,catholic1 or a ,protestant4       ,the 
priest continues what the nurse began1  
,and thus the child imposes on the man4 
,but this sort of belief forms no part  
of the subject of the present ,essay4   
,my purpose is to confine myself to the 
consideration of those persons1 who in  
some degree1 more or less1 exercise the 
reasoning faculty in the pursuit of     
truth1 and1 having attempted to examine 
the evidence of an interesting and      
weighty proposition1 satisfy themselves 
that they have arrived at a sound       

conclusion4  ,it is however the rarest  
thing in the world1 for any one to found
 his opinion1 simply upon the evidence  
that presents itself to him of the truth
 of the proposition which comes before  
him to be examined4 ,where is the man   
that breaks loose from all the shackles 
that in his youth had been imposed upon 
hills1 and says to ,truth1 ,go on2      
whithersoever thou leadest1 ,i am       
prepared to follow8 ,to weigh the       
evidence for and against a proposition1 
in scales so balanced1 that the division
 of the twentieth part of one poor      
scruple1 the estimation of a hair1 shall
 be recognised and submitted to1 is the 
privilege of a mind of no ordinary      
fairness and firmness4  ,the ,scriptures
 say ,the heart of man is deceitful     
above all things4 ,the thinking         
principle within us is so subtle1 has   
passed through so many forms of         
instruction1 and is under the influence 
and direction of such a variety of      
causes1 that no man can accurately      

pronounce by what impulse he has been   
led to the conclusion in which he       
finally reposes4 ,every ingenuous       
person1 who is invited to embrace a     
certain profession1 that of the church  
for example1 will desire1 preparatorily 
to his final determination1 to examine  
the evidences and the merits of the     
religion he embraces1 that he may enter 
upon his profession under the influence 
of a sincere conviction1 and be inspired
 with that zeal1 in singleness of heart1
 which can alone prevent his vocation   
from being disgraceful to him4 ,yet how 
many motives are there1 constraining him
 to abide in an affirmative conclusion8 
,his friends expect this from him4      
,perhaps his own inclination leads him  
to select this destination rather than  
any other4 ,perhaps preferment and      
opulence wait upon his decision4 ,if the
 final result of his enquiries lead him 
to an opposite judgment1 to how much    
obloquy will he be exposed6 ,where is   
the man who can say that no unconscious 

bias has influenced him in the progress 
of his investigation8 ,who shall        
pronounce that1 under very different    
circumstances1 his conclusions would not
 have been essentially other than they  
are8  ,but the enquiry of an active and 
a searching mind does not terminate on a
 certain day4 ,he will be for ever      
revising and reconsidering his first    
determinations4 ,it is one of the       
leading maxims of an honourable mind1   
that we must be1 at all times1 and to   
the last hour of our existence1         
accessible to conviction built upon new 
evidence1 or upon evidence presented in 
a light in which it had not before been 
viewed4 ,if then the probationer for the
 clerical profession was under some bias
 in his first investigation1 how must it
 be expected to be with him1 when he has
 already taken the vow1 and received    
ordination8 ,can he with a calm and     
unaltered spirit contemplate the        
possibility1 that the ground shall be   
cut away from under him1 and that1 by   

dint of irrefragable argument1 he shall 
be stripped of his occupation1 and      
turned out naked and friendless into the
 world8  ,but this is only one of the   
broadest and most glaring instances4 ,in
 every question of paramount importance 
there is ever a secret influence urging 
me earnestly to desire to find one side 
of the question right and the other     
wrong4 ,shall ,i be a whig or a tory1   
believe a republic or a mixed monarchy  
most conducive to the improvement and   
happiness of mankind1 embrace the creed 
of free will or necessity8 ,there is in 
all cases a strong temptation that      
waketh in the heart4 ,cowardice urges me
 to become the adherent of that creed1  
which is espoused by my nearest friends1
 or those who are most qualified to     
serve me4 ,enterprise and a courageous  
spirit on the contrary bid me embrace   
the tenet1 the embracing of which shall 
most conduce to my reputation for       
extraordinary perspicuity and acuteness1
 and gain me the character of an        

intrepid adventurer1 a man who dares    
commit himself to an unknown voyage4    
,in the question of religion1 even when 
the consideration of the profession of  
an ecclesiastic does not occur1 yet we  
are taught to believe that there is only
 one set of tenets that will lead us in 
the way of salvation4 ,faith is         
represented as the first of all         
qualifications4 ,if ,i had not come and 
spoken unto them1 they had not had sin4 
,with what heart then does a man set    
himself to examine1 and scrupulously    
weigh the evidence on one side and the  
other1 when some undiscerned frailty1   
some secret bias that all his care      
cannot detect1 may lurk within1 and     
insure for him the greater condemnation8
 ,i well remember in early life1 with   
what tingling sensation and unknown     
horror ,i looked into the books of the  
infidels and the repositories of        
unlawful tenets1 lest ,i should be      
seduced4 ,i held it my duty to prove all
 things2 but ,i knew not how far it     

might be my fate2 to sustain the penalty
 attendant even upon an honourable and  
virtuous curiousity4  ,it is one of the 
most received arguments of the present  
day against religious persecution1 that 
the judgments we form are not under the 
authority of our will1 and that1 for    
what it is not in our power to change1  
it is unjust we should be punished3 and 
there is much truth in this4 ,but it is 
not true to the fullest extent4 ,the    
sentiments we shall entertain1 are to a 
considerable degree at the disposal of  
inticements on the one side1 and of     
menaces and apprehension on the other4  
,that which we wish to believe1 we are  
already greatly in progress to embrace2 
and that which will bring upon us       
disgrace and calamity1 we are more than 
half prepared to reject4 ,persecution   
however is of very equivocal power3 we  
cannot embrace one faith and reject     
another at the word of command4  ,it is 
a curious question to decide how far    
punishments and rewards may be made     

effectual to determine the religion of  
nations and generations of men4 ,they   
are often unsuccessful4 ,there is a     
feeling in the human heart1 that prompts
 us to reject with indignation this     
species of tyranny4 ,we become more     
obstinate in clinging to that which we  
are commanded to discard4 ,we place our 
honour and our pride in the firmness of 
our resistance4 ,the blood of the       
martyrs is the seed of the church4 ,yet 
there is often great efficacy in        
persecution4 ,it was the policy of the  
court of ,versailles that brought almost
 to nothing the ,huguenots of ,france4  
,and there is a degree of persecution1  
if the persecuting party has the        
strength and the inexorableness to      
employ it1 that it is perhaps beyond the
 prowess of human nature to stand up    
against4  ,the mind of the enquiring man
 is engaged in a course of perpetual    
research2 and ingenuousness prompts us  
never to be satisfied with the efforts  
that we have made1 but to press forward4

 ,but mind1 as well as body1 has a      
certain vis inertiae1 and moves only as 
it is acted upon by impulses from       
without4 ,with respect to the adopting  
new opinions1 and the discovery of new  
truths1 we must be indebted in the last 
resort1 either to books1 or the oral    
communications of our fellow-men1 or to 
ideas immediately suggested to us by the
 phenomena of man or nature4 ,the two   
former are the ordinary causes of a     
change of judgment to men3 they are for 
the most part minds of a superior class 
only1 that are susceptible of hints     
derived straight from the external      
world1 without the understandings of    
other men intervening1 and serving as a 
conduit to the new conceptions          
introduced4 ,the two former serve1 so to
 express it1 for the education of man1  
and enable us to master1 in our own     
persons1 the points already secured1 and
 the wisdom laid up in the great        
magazine of human knowledge2 the last   
imparts to us the power of adding to the

 stock1 and carrying forward by one step
 and another the improvements of which  
our nature is susceptible4  ,it is much 
that books1 the unchanging records of   
the thoughts of men in former ages1 are 
able to impart to us4 ,for many of the  
happiest moments of our lives1 for many 
of the purest and most exalted feelings 
of the human heart1 we are indebted to  
them4 ,education is their province2 we  
derive from them civilization and       
refinement2 and we may affirm of        
literature1 what ,otway has said of     
woman1 ,we had been brutes without you4 
,it is thus that the acquisitions of the
 wise are handed down from age to age1  
and that we are enabled to mount step   
after step on the ladder of paradise1   
till we reach the skies4  ,but1         
inestimable as is the benefit we derive 
from books1 there is something more     
searching and soul-stirring in the      
impulse of oral communication4 ,we      
cannot shut our ears1 as we shut our    
books2 we cannot escape from the appeal 

of the man who addresses us with earnest
 speech and living conviction4 ,it is   
thus1 we are told1 that1 when ,cicero   
pleaded before ,caesar for the life of  
,ligarius1 the conqueror of the world   
was troubled1 and changed colour again  
and again1 till at length the scroll    
prepared for the condemnation of the    
patriot fell from his hand4 ,sudden and 
irresistible conviction is chiefly the  
offspring of living speech4 ,we may arm 
ourselves against the arguments of an   
author2 but the strength of reasoning in
 him who addresses us1 takes us at      
unawares4 ,it is in the reciprocation of
 answer and rejoinder that the power of 
conversion specially lies4 ,a book is an
 abstraction4 ,it is but imperfectly    
that we feel1 that a real man addresses 
us in it1 and that what he delivers is  
the entire and deep-wrought sentiment of
 a being of flesh and blood like        
ourselves1 a being who claims our       
attention1 and is entitled to our       
deference4 ,the living human voice1 with

 a countenance and manner corresponding1
 constrains us to weigh what is said1   
shoots through us like a stroke of      
electricity1 will not away from our     
memory1 and haunts our very dreams4 ,it 
is by means of this peculiarity in the  
nature of mind1 that it has been often  
observed that there is from time to time
 an ,augustan age in the intellect of   
nations1 that men of superior powers    
shock with each other1 and that light is
 struck from the collision1 which most  
probably no one of these men would have 
given birth to1 if they had not been    
thrown into mutual society and          
communion4 ,and even so1 upon a narrower
 scale1 he that would aspire to do the  
most of which his faculties are         
susceptible1 should seek the intercourse
 of his fellows1 that his powers may be 
strengthened1 and he may be kept free   
from that torpor and indolence of soul1 
which1 without external excitement1 are 
ever apt to take possession of us4  ,the
 man1 who lives in solitude1 and seldom 

communicates with minds of the same     
class as his own1 works out his opinions
 with patient scrutiny1 returns to the  
investigation again and again1 imagines 
that he had examined the question on all
 sides1 and at length arrives at what is
 to him a satisfactory conclusion4 ,he  
resumes the view of this conclusion day 
after day2 he finds in it an unalterable
 validity2 he says in his heart1 ,thus  
much ,i have gained2 this is a real     
advance in the search after truth2 ,i   
have added in a defined and palpable    
degree to what ,i knew before4 ,and yet 
it has sometimes happened1 that this    
person1 after having been shut up for   
weeks1 or for a longer period1 in his   
sanctuary1 living1 so far as related to 
an exchange of oral disquisitions with  
his fellow-men1 like ,robinson ,crusoe  
in the desolate island1 shall come into 
the presence of one1 equally            
clear-sighted1 curious and indefatigable
 with himself1 and shall hear from him  
an obvious and palpable statement1 which

 in a moment shivers his sightly and    
glittering fabric into atoms4 ,the      
statement was palpable and near at hand2
 it was a thin1 an almost imperceptible 
partition that hid it from him2 he      
wonders in his heart that it never      
occurred to his meditations4 ,and yet so
 it is3 it was hid from him for weeks1  
or perhaps for a longer period3 it might
 have been hid from him for twenty      
years1 if it had not been for the       
accident that supplied it4 ,and he no   
sooner sees it1 than he instantly       
perceives that the discovery upon which 
he plumed himself1 was an absurdity1 of 
which even a schoolboy might be ashamed4
  ,a circumstance not less curious1     
among the phenomena which belong to this
 subject of belief1 is the repugnance   
incident to the most ingenuous minds1   
which we harbour against the suddenly   
discarding an opinion we have previously
 entertained1 and the adopting one which
 comes recommended to us with almost the
 force of demonstration4 ,nothing can be

 better founded than this repugnance4   
,the mind of man is of a peculiar       
nature4 ,it has been disputed whether we
 can entertain more than one idea at a  
time4 ,but certain it is1 that the views
 of the mind at any one time are        
considerably narrowed4 ,the mind is like
 the slate of a schoolboy1 which can    
contain only a certain number of        
characters of a given size1 or like a   
moveable panorama1 which places a given 
scene or landscape before me1 and the   
space assigned1 and which comes within  
the limits marked out to my perception1 
is full4 ,many things are therefore     
almost inevitably shut out1 which1 had  
it not been so1 might have essentially  
changed the view of the case1 and have  
taught me that it was a very different  
conclusion at which ,i ought to have    
arrived4  ,at first sight nothing can   
appear more unreasonable1 than that ,i  
should hesitate to admit the seemingly  
irresistible force of the argument      
presented to me4 ,an ingenuous          

disposition would appear to require     
that1 the moment the truth1 or what     
seems to be the truth1 is set before me1
 ,i should pay to it the allegiance to  
which truth is entitled4 ,if ,i do      
otherwise1 it would appear to argue a   
pusillanimous disposition1 a mind not   
prompt and disengaged to receive the    
impression of evidence1 a temper that   
loves something else better than the    
lustre which all men are bound to       
recognise1 and that has a reserve in    
favour of ancient prejudice1 and of an  
opinion no longer supported by reason4  
,in fact however ,i shall act most      
wisely1 and in the way most honourable  
to my character1 if ,i resolve to       
adjourn the debate4 ,no matter how      
complete the view may seem which is now 
presented to my consideration1 or how   
irresistible the arguments3 truth is too
 majestic a divinity1 and it is of too  
much importance that ,i should not      
follow a delusive semblance that may    
shew like truth1 not to make it in the  

highest degree proper that ,i should    
examine again and again1 before ,i come 
to the conclusion to which ,i mean to   
affix my seal1 and annex my sanction1   
,this is the truth4 ,the ancient ,goths 
of ,germany1 we are told1 had a custom  
of debating every thing of importance to
 their state twice1 once in the high    
animation of a convivial meeting1 and   
once in the serene stillness of a       
morning consultation4 ,philip of        
,macedon having decided a cause         
precipitately1 the party condemned by   
him immediately declared his resolution 
to appeal from the sentence4 ,and to    
whom1 said the king1 wilt thou appeal8  
,to ,philip1 was the answer1 in the     
entire possession of his understanding4 
,such is the nature of the human        
mind--at least1 such ,i find to be the  
nature of my own--that many trains of   
thinking1 many chains of evidence1 the  
result of accumulated facts1 will often 
not present themselves1 at the time when
 their presence would be of the highest 

importance4 ,the view which now comes   
before me is of a substance so close and
 well-woven1 and of colours so brilliant
 and dazzling1 that other matters in a  
certain degree remote1 though of no less
 intrinsic importance1 and equally      
entitled to influence my judgment in the
 question in hand1 shall be entirely    
shut out1 shall be killed1 and fail to  
offer themselves to my perceptions4  ,it
 is a curious circumstance which ,pope1 
a man of eminent logical power and      
acuteness1 relates1 that1 having at his 
command in his youth a collection of all
 the tracts that had been written on    
both sides in the reign of ,james the   
,second1 he applied himself with great  
assiduity to their perusal1 and the     
consequence was1 that he was a ,papist  
and ,protestant by turns1 according to  
the last book he read7#ca74      7#ca7  
,correspondence with ,atterbury1 ,letter
 ,,iv4   ,this circumstance in the      
structure of the human understanding is 
well known1 and is the foundation of    

many provisions that occur in the       
constitution of political society4 ,how 
each man shall form his creed1 and      
arrange those opinions by which his     
conduct shall be regulated1 is of course
 a matter exclusively subjected to his  
own discretion4 ,but1 when he is called 
upon to act in the name of a community1 
and to decide upon a question in which  
the public is interested1 he of         
necessity feels himself called upon to  
proceed with the utmost caution4 ,a     
judge on the bench1 a chancellor1 is not
 contented with that sudden ray of      
mental illumination to which an         
ingenuous individual is often disposed  
to yield in an affair of abstract       
speculation4 ,he feels that he is       
obliged to wait for evidence1 the nature
 of which he does not yet anticipate1   
and to adjourn his decision4 ,a         
deliberative council or assembly is     
aware of the necessity of examining a   
question again and again4 ,it is upon   
this principle that the two houses of   

the ,english parliament are required to 
give a first1 a second and a third      
reading1 together with various other    
forms and technicalities1 to the        
provision that is brought before them1  
previously to its passing into a law4   
,and there is many a fundamental dogma  
and corner-stone of the sentiments that 
,i shall emphatically call my own1 that 
is of more genuine importance to the    
individual1 than to a nation is a number
 of those regulations1 which by courtesy
 we call acts of parliament4  ,nothing  
can have a more glaring tendency to     
subvert the authority of my opinion     
among my fellow-men1 than instability4  
,what went ye out into the wilderness to
 see said ,jesus ,christ3 a reed shaken 
with the wind8 ,we ought at all times to
 be open to conviction4 ,we ought to be 
ever ready to listen to evidence4 ,but1 
conscious of our human frailty1 it is   
seldom that we ought immediately to     
subscribe to the propositions1 however  
specious1 that are now for the first    

time presented to us4 ,it is our duty to
 lay up in our memory the suggestions   
offered upon any momentous question1 and
 not to suffer them to lose their       
inherent weight and impressiveness2 but 
it is only through the medium of        
consideration and reconsideration1 that 
they can become entitled to our full and
 unreserved assent4  ,the nature of     
belief1 or opinion1 has been well       
illustrated by ,lord ,shaftesbury7#cb74 
,there are many notions or judgments    
floating in the mind of every man1 which
 are mutually destructive of each other4
 ,in this sense men's opinions are      
governed by high and low spirits1 by the
 state of the solids and fluids of the  
human body1 and by the state of the     
weather4 ,but in a paramount sense that 
only can be said to be a man's opinion  
which he entertains in his clearest     
moments1 and from which1 when he is most
 himself1 he is least subject to vary4  
,in this emphatical sense1 ,i should    
say1 a man does not always know what is 

his real opinion4 ,we cannot strictly be
 said to believe any thing1 in cases    
where we afterwards change our opinion  
without the introduction of some        
evidence that was unknown to us before4 
,but how many are the instances in which
 we can be affirmed to be in the        
adequate recollection of all the        
evidences and reasonings which have at  
some time occurred to us1 and of the    
opinions1 together with the grounds on  
which they rested1 which we conceived we
 had justly and rationally entertained8 
,the considerations here stated however 
should by no means be allowed to inspire
 us with indifference in matters of     
opinion4 ,it is the glory and lustre of 
our nature1 that we are capable of      
receiving evidence1 and weighing the    
reasons for and against any important   
proposition in the balance of an        
impartial and enlightened understanding4
 ,the only effect that should be        
produced in us1 by the reflection that  
we can at last by no means be secure    

that we have attained to a perfect      
result1 should be to teach us a wholsome
 diffidence and humility1 and induce us 
to confess that1 when we have done all1 
we are ignorant1 dim-sighted and        
fallible1 that our best reasonings may  
betray1 and our wisest conclusions      
deceive us4      7#cb7 ,enquiry         
concerning ,virtue1 ,book #a1 ,part #a1 
,section ii4     ,,essay ,,xiv4 ,,of    
,,youth ,,and ,,age4  ,magna debetur    
pueris reverentia4                      
,quintilian4  ,i am more doubtful in    
writing the following ,essay than in any
 of those which precede1 how far ,i am  
treating of human nature generally1 or  
to a certain degree merely recording my 
own feelings as an individual4 ,i am    
guided however in composing it1 by the  
principle laid down in my ,preface1 that
 the purpose of my book in each instance
 should be to expand some new and       
interesting truth1 or some old truth    
viewed under a new aspect1 which had    
never by any preceding writer been laid 

before the public4  ,education1 in the  
conception of those whose office it is  
to direct it1 has various engines by    
means of which it is to be made         
effective1 and among these are          
reprehension and chastisement4  ,the    
philosophy of the wisest man that ever  
existed1 is mainly derived from the act 
of introspection4 ,we look into our own 
bosoms1 observe attentively every thing 
that passes there1 anatomise our        
motives1 trace step by step the         
operations of thought1 and diligently   
remark the effects of external impulses 
upon our feelings and conduct4          
,philosophers1 ever since the time in   
which ,socrates flourished1 to carry    
back our recollections no further1 have 
found that the minds of men in the most 
essential particulars are framed so far 
upon the same model1 that the analysis  
of the individual may stand in general  
consideration for the analysis of the   
species4 ,where this principle fails1 it
 is not easy to suggest a proceeding    

that shall supply the deficiency4 ,i    
look into my own breast2 ,i observe     
steadily and with diligence what passes 
there2 and with all the parade of the   
philosophy of the human mind ,i can do  
little more than this4  ,in treating    
therefore of education in the point of  
view in which it has just been proposed1
 ,i turn my observation upon myself1 and
 ,i proceed thus4--,if ,i do not stand  
as a competent representative for the   
whole of my species1 ,i suppose ,i may  
at least assume to be the representative
 of no inconsiderable number of them4   
,i find then in myself1 for as long a   
time as ,i can trace backward the       
records of memory1 a prominent vein of  
docility4 ,whatever it was proposed to  
teach me1 that was in any degree        
accordant with my constitution and      
capacity1 ,i was willing to learn4 ,and 
this limit is sufficient for the topic  
,i am proposing to treat4 ,i do not     
intend to consider education of any     
other sort1 than that which has         

something in it of a liberal and        
ingenuous nature4 ,i am not here        
discussing the education of a peasant1  
an artisan1 or a slave4  ,in addition to
 this vein of docility1 which easily    
prompted me to learn whatever was       
proposed for my instruction and         
improvement1 ,i felt in myself a        
sentiment of ambition1 a desire to      
possess the qualifications which ,i     
found to be productive of esteem1 and   
that should enable me to excel among my 
contemporaries4 ,i was ambitious to be a
 leader1 and to be regarded by others   
with feelings of complacency4 ,i had no 
wish to rule by brute force and         
compulsion2 but ,i was desirous to      
govern by love1 and honour1 and the     
cords of a man4  ,i do not imagine that1
 when ,i aver thus much of myself1 ,i am
 bringing forward any thing             
unprecedented1 or that multitudes of my 
fellow-men do not largely participate   
with me4  ,the question therefore ,i am 
considering is1 through what agency1 and

 with what engines1 a youth thus        
disposed1 and with these qualifications1
 is to be initiated in all liberal arts4
  ,i will go back no further than to the
 commencement of the learning of ,latin4
 ,all before was so easy to me1 as never
 to have presented the idea of a task4  
,i was immediately put into the         
accidence4 ,no explanation was attempted
 to be given why ,latin was to be of use
 to me1 or why it was necessary to      
commit to memory the cases of nouns and 
the tenses of verbs4 ,i know not whether
 this was owing to the unwillingness of 
my instructor to give himself the       
trouble1 or to my supposed incapacity to
 apprehend the explanation4 ,the last of
 these ,i do not admit4 ,my docility    
however came to my aid1 and ,i did not  
for a moment harbour any repugnance to  
the doing what was required of me4 ,at  
first1 and unassisted in the enquiry1 ,i
 felt a difficulty in supposing that the
 ,english language1 all the books in my 
father's library1 did not contain every 

thing that it would be necessary for me 
to know4 ,in no long time however ,i    
came to experience a pleasure in turning
 the thoughts expressed in an unknown   
tongue into my own2 and ,i speedily     
understood that ,i could never be on a  
level with those eminent scholars whom  
it was my ambition to rival1 without the
 study of the classics4  ,what then were
 the obstacles1 that should in any      
degree counteract my smooth and rapid   
progress in the studies suggested to me8
 ,i can conceive only two4  ,first1 the 
versatility and fickleness which in a   
greater or less degree beset all human  
minds1 particularly in the season of    
early youth4 ,however docile we may be1 
and willing to learn1 there will be     
periods1 when either some other object  
powerfully solicits us1 or satiety      
creeps in1 and makes us wish to occupy  
our attention with any thing else rather
 than with the task prescribed us4 ,but 
this is no powerful obstacle4 ,the      
authority of the instructor1 a grave    

look1 and the exercise of a moderate    
degree of patience will easily remove it
 in such a probationer as we are here   
considering4  ,another obstacle is      
presumption4 ,the scholar is willing to 
conceive well of his own capacity4 ,he  
has a vanity in accomplishing the task  
prescribed him in the shortest          
practicable time4 ,he is impatient to go
 away from the business imposed upon    
him1 to things of his own election1 and 
occupations which his partialities and  
his temper prompt him to pursue4 ,he has
 a pride in saying to himself1 ,this1   
which was a business given to occupy me 
for several hours1 ,i can accomplish in 
less than one4 ,but the presumption     
arising out of these views is easily    
subdued4 ,if the pupil is wrong in his  
calculation1 the actual experiment will 
speedily convince him of his error4 ,he 
is humbled by and ashamed of his        
mistake4 ,the merely being sent back to 
study his lesson afresh1 is on the face 
of the thing punishment enough4  ,it    

follows from this view of the matter1   
that an ingenuous youth1 endowed with   
sufficient capacity for the business    
prescribed him1 may be led on in the    
path of intellectual acquisition and    
improvement with a silken cord4 ,it will
 demand a certain degree of patience on 
the part of the instructor4 ,but ,heaven
 knows1 that this patience is           
sufficiently called into requisition    
when the instructor shall be the        
greatest disciplinarian that ever       
existed4 ,kind tones and encouragement  
will animate the learner amidst many a  
difficult pass4 ,a grave remark may     
perhaps sometimes be called for4 ,and1  
if the preceptor and the pupil have gone
 on like friends1 a grave remark1 a look
 expressive of rebuke1 will be found a  
very powerful engine4 ,the instructor   
should smooth the business of           
instruction to his pupil1 by appealing  
to his understanding1 developing his    
taste1 and assisting him to remark the  
beauties of the composition on which he 

is occupied4  ,i come now then to the   
consideration of the two engines        
mentioned in the commencement of this   
,essay1 reprehension and chastisement4  
,and here1 as in what went before1 ,i am
 reduced to the referring to my own     
experience1 and looking back into the   
history of my own mind4  ,i say then1   
that reprehension and reprimand can     
scarcely ever be necessary4 ,the pupil  
should undoubtedly be informed when he  
is wrong4 ,he should be told what it is 
that he ought to have omitted1 and that 
he ought to have done4 ,there should be 
no reserve in this4 ,it will be worthy  
of the highest censure1 if on these     
points the instructor should be         
mealy-mouthed1 or hesitate to tell the  
pupil in the plainest terms1 of his     
faults1 his bad habits1 and the dangers 
that beset his onward and honourable    
path4  ,but this may be best1 and most  
beneficially done1 and in a way most    
suitable to the exigence1 and to the    
party to be corrected1 in a few words4  

,the rest is all an unwholsome tumour1  
the disease of speech1 and not the sound
 and healthful substance through which  
its circulation and life are conveyed4  
,there is always danger of this         
excrescence of speech1 where the speaker
 is the umpire1 and feels himself at    
liberty1 unreproved1 to say what he     
pleases4 ,he is charmed with the sound  
of his own voice4 ,the periods flow     
numerous from his tongue1 and he gets on
 at his ease4 ,there is in all this an  
image of empire2 and the human mind is  
ever prone to be delighted in the       
exercise of unrestricted authority4 ,the
 pupil in this case stands before his   
instructor in an attitude humble1       
submissive1 and bowing to the admonition
 that is communicated to him4 ,the      
speaker says more than it was in his    
purpose to say2 and he knows not how to 
arrest himself in his triumphant career4
 ,he believes that he is in no danger of
 excess1 and recollects the old proverb 
that words break no bones4  ,but a      

syllable more than is necessary and     
justly measured1 is materially of evil  
operation to ingenuous youth4 ,the mind 
of such a youth is tender and flexible1 
and easily swayed one way or the other4 
,he believes almost every thing that he 
is bid to believe2 and the admonition   
that is given him with all the symptoms 
of friendliness and sincerity he is     
prompt to subscribe to4 ,if this is     
wantonly aggravated to him1 he feels the
 oppression1 and is galled with the     
injustice4 ,he knows himself guiltless  
of premeditated wrong4 ,he has not yet  
learned that his condition is that of a 
slave2 and he feels a certain impatience
 at his being considered as such1 though
 he probably does not venture to express
 it4 ,he shuts up the sense of this     
despotism in his own bosom2 and it is   
his first lesson of independence and    
rebellion and original sin4  ,it is one 
of the grossest mistakes of which we can
 be guilty1 if we confound different    
offences and offenders together4 ,the   

great and the small alike appear before 
us in the many-coloured scene of human  
society1 and1 if we reprehend bitterly  
and rate a juvenile sinner for the      
fault1 which he scarcely understood1 and
 assuredly had not premeditated1 we     
break down at once a thousand salutary  
boundaries1 and reduce the ideas of     
right and wrong in his mind to a        
portentous and terrible chaos4 ,the     
communicator of liberal knowledge       
assuredly ought not to confound his     
office with that of a magistrate at a   
quarter-sessions1 who though he does not
 sit in judgment upon transgressions of 
the deepest and most atrocious          
character1 yet has brought before him in
 many cases defaulters of a somewhat    
hardened disposition1 whose lot has been
 cast among the loose and the           
profligate1 and who have been carefully 
trained to a certain audacity of temper1
 taught to look upon the paraphernalia  
of justice with scorn1 and to place a   
sort of honour in sustaining hard words 

and the lesser visitations of punishment
 with unflinching nerve4  ,if this is   
the judgment we ought to pass upon the  
bitter and galling and humiliating terms
 of reprehension apt to be made use of  
by the instructor to his pupil1 it is   
unnecessary to say a word on the subject
 of chastisement4 ,if such an expedient 
is ever to be had recourse to1 it can   
only be in cases of contumaciousness and
 rebellion2 and then the instructor     
cannot too unreservedly say to himself1 
,this is matter of deep humiliation to  
me3 ,i ought to have succeeded by an    
appeal to the understanding and         
ingenuous feelings of youth2 but ,i am  
reduced to a confession of my impotence4
  ,but the topic which1 most of all1 ,i 
was desirous to bring forward in this   
,essay1 is that of the language so      
customarily employed by the impatient   
and irritated preceptor1 ,hereafter1 in 
a state of mature and ripened judgment1 
you will thank me for the severity ,i   
now exercise towards you4  ,no2 it may  

safely be answered3 that time will never
 arrive4  ,as1 in one of my earlier     
,essays7#cc71 ,i undertook to shew that 
there is not so much difference between 
the talents of one man and another as   
has often been apprehended1 so we are   
guilty of a gross error in the way in   
which we divide the child from the man1 
and consider him as if he belonged to a 
distinct species of beings4      7#cc7  
,essay ,,ii4   ,i go back to the        
recollections of my youth1 and can      
scarcely find where to draw the line    
between ineptness and maturity4 ,the    
thoughts that occurred to me1 as far    
back as ,i can recollect them1 were     
often shrewd2 the suggestions ingenious2
 the judgments not seldom acute4 ,i feel
 myself the same individual all through4
  ,sometimes ,i was unreasonably        
presumptuous1 and sometimes             
unnecessarily distrustful4 ,experience  
has taught me in various instances a    
sober confidence in my decisions2 but   
that is all the difference4 ,so to      

express it1 ,i had then the same tools  
to work with as now2 but the magazine of
 materials upon which ,i had to operate 
was scantily supplied4 ,like the        
apothecary in ,romeo and ,juliet1 the   
faculty1 such as it was1 was within me2 
but my shelves contained but a small    
amount of furniture3        ,a beggarly 
account of empty boxes1       ,remnants 
of packthread1 and old cakes of roses1  
,which1 thinly scattered1 served to make
 a shew4   ,in speaking thus of the     
intellectual powers of my youth1 ,i am  
however conceding too much4 ,it is true1
 ,practice maketh perfect4 ,but it is   
surprising1 in apt and towardly youth1  
how much there is to commend in the     
first essays4 ,the novice1 who has his  
faculties lively and on the alert1 will 
strike with his hammer almost exactly   
where the blow ought to be placed1 and  
give nearly the precisely right force to
 the act4 ,he will seize the thread it  
was fitting to seize2 and1 though he    
fail again and again1 will shew an      

adroitness upon the whole that we       
scarcely know how to account for4 ,the  
man whose career shall ultimately be    
crowned with success1 will demonstrate  
in the beginning that he was destined to
 succeed4  ,there is therefore no       
radical difference between the child and
 the man4 ,his flesh becomes more firm  
and sinewy2 his bones grow more solid   
and powerful2 his joints are more       
completely strung4 ,but he is still     
essentially the same being that he was4 
,when a genuine philosopher holds a     
new-born child in his arms1 and         
carefully examines it1 he perceives in  
it various indications of temper and    
seeds of character4 ,it was all there1  
though folded up and confused1 and not  
obtruding itself upon the remark of     
every careless spectator4 ,it continues 
with the child through life1 grows with 
his growth1 and never leaves him till he
 is at last consigned to the tomb4 ,how 
absurd then by artful rules and positive
 institutions to undertake to separate  

what can never be divided6 ,the child is
 occasionally grave and reflecting1 and 
deduces well-founded inferences2 he     
draws on the past1 and plunges into the 
wide ocean of the future4 ,in proportion
 as the child advances into the youth1  
his intervals of gravity increase1 and  
he builds up theories and judgments1    
some of which no future time shall      
suffice to overturn4 ,it is idle to     
suppose that the first activity of our  
faculties1 when every thing is new and  
produces an unbated impression1 when the
 mind is uncumbered1 and every interest 
and every feeling bid us be observing   
and awake1 should pass for nothing4 ,we 
lay up stores then1 which shall never be
 exhausted4 ,our minds are the reverse  
of worn and obtuse4 ,we bring faculties 
into the world with us fresh from the   
hands of the all-bounteous giver2 they  
are not yet moulded to a senseless      
routine2 they are not yet corrupted by  
the ill lessons of effrontery1 impudence
 and vice4 ,childhood is beautiful2     

youth is ingenuous2 and it can be       
nothing but a principle which is hostile
 to all that most adorns this sublunary 
scene1 that would with violence and     
despotic rule mar the fairest flower    
that creation has to boast4  ,it happens
 therefore almost unavoidably that1 when
 the man mature looks back upon the     
little incidents of his youth1 he sees  
them to a surprising degree in the same 
light1 and forms the same conclusions   
respecting them1 as he did when they    
were actually passing4 ,the forgeries of
 opinion1 says ,cicero1 speedily pass   
away2 but the rules and decisions of    
nature are strengthened4 ,bitter        
reproaches and acts of violence are the 
offspring of perturbation engendered    
upon imbecility1 and therefore can never
 be approved upon a sober and impartial 
revision4 ,and1 if they are to be       
impeached in the judgment of an equal   
and indifferent observer1 we may be sure
 they will be emphatically condemned by 
the grave and enlightened censor who    

looks back upon the years of his own    
nonage1 and recollects that he was      
himself the victim of the intemperance  
to be pronounced upon4 ,the interest    
that he must necessarily take in the    
scenes in which he once had an          
engrossing concern1 will supply peculiar
 luminousness to his views4 ,he taxes   
himself to be just4 ,the transaction is 
over now1 and is passed to the events   
that preceded the universal deluge4 ,he 
holds the balance with a steadiness1    
which sets at defiance all attempts to  
give it a false direction one way or the
 other4 ,but the judgment he made on the
 case at the time1 and immediately after
 the humiliation he suffered1 remains   
with him4 ,it was the sentiment of his  
ripening youth2 it was the opinion of   
his opening manhood2 and it still       
attends him1 when he is already fast    
yielding to the incroachments and       
irresistible assaults of declining      
years4     ,,essay ,,xv4 ,,of ,,love    
,,and ,,friendship4  ,who is it that    

says1 ,there is no love but among       
equals8 ,be it who it may1 it is a      
saying universally known1 and that is in
 every one's mouth4 ,the contrary is    
precisely the truth1 and is the great   
secret of every thing that is admirable 
in our moral nature4  ,by love it is my 
intention here to understand1 not a     
calm1 tranquil1 and1 as it were1        
half-pronounced feeling1 but a passion  
of the mind4 ,we may doubtless entertain
 an approbation of other men1 without   
adverting to the question how they stand
 in relation to ourselves1 as equals or 
otherwise4 ,but the sentiment ,i am here
 considering1 is that where the person  
in whom it resides most strongly        
sympathises with the joys and sorrows of
 another1 desires his gratification1    
hopes for his welfare1 and shrinks from 
the anticipation of his being injured2  
in a word1 is the sentiment which has   
most the spirit of sacrifice in it1 and 
prepares the person in whom it dwells1  
to postpone his own advantage to the    

advantage of him who is the object of   
it4  ,having placed love among the      
passions1 which is no vehement          
assumption1 ,i then say1 there can be no
 passion1 and by consequence no love1   
where there is not imagination4 ,in     
cases where every thing is understood1  
and measured1 and reduced to rule1 love 
is out of the question4 ,whenever this  
sentiment prevails1 ,i must have my     
attention fixed more on the absent than 
the present1 more upon what ,i do not   
see than on what ,i do see4 ,my thoughts
 will be taken up with the future or the
 past1 with what is to come or what has 
been4 ,of the present there is          
necessarily no image4 ,sentiment is     
nothing1 till you have arrived at a     
mystery and a veil1 something that is   
seen obscurely1 that is just hinted at  
in the distance1 that has neither       
certain outline nor colour1 but that is 
left for the mind to fill up according  
to its pleasure and in the best manner  
it is able4  ,the great model of the    

affection of love in human beings1 is   
the sentiment which subsists between    
parents and children4  ,let not this    
appear a paradox4 ,there is another     
relation in human society to which this 
epithet has more emphatically been      
given3 but1 if we analyse the matter    
strictly1 we shall find that all that is
 most sacred and beautiful in the       
passion between the sexes1 has relation 
to offspring4 ,what ,milton calls1 ,the 
rites mysterious of connubial love1     
would have little charm in them in      
reflection1 to a mind one degree above  
the brutes1 were it not for the mystery 
they include1 of their tendency to give 
existence to a new human creature like  
ourselves4 ,were it not for this        
circumstance1 a man and a woman would   
hardly ever have learned to live        
together2 there scarcely could have been
 such a thing as domestic society2 but  
every intercourse of this sort would    
have been casual1 joyless1 unendeared2  
and the propensity would have brought   

along with it nothing more of beauty1   
lustre and grace1 than the pure animal  
appetites of hunger and thirst4 ,bearing
 in mind these considerations1 ,i do not
 therefore hesitate to say1 that the    
great model of the affection of love in 
human beings1 is the sentiment which    
subsists between parents and children4  
,the original feature in this sentiment 
is the conscious feeling of the         
protector and the protected4 ,our       
passions cannot subsist in lazy         
indolence2 passion and action must      
operate on each other2 passion must     
produce action1 and action give strength
 to the tide of passion4 ,we do not     
vehemently desire1 where we can do      
nothing4 ,it is in a very faint way that
 ,i entertain a wish to possess the     
faculty of flying2 and an ordinary man  
can scarcely be said to desire to be a  
king or an emperor4 ,none but a madman1 
of plebeian rank1 falls in love with a  
princess4 ,but shew me a good thing     
within my reach2 convince me that it is 

in my power to attain it2 demonstrate to
 me that it is fit for me1 and ,i am fit
 for it2 then begins the career of      
passion4 ,in the same manner1 ,i cannot 
love a person vehemently1 and strongly  
interest myself in his miscarriages or  
success1 till ,i feel that ,i can be    
something to him4 ,love cannot dwell in 
a state of impotence4 ,to affect and be 
affected1 this is the common nature ,i  
require2 this is the being that is like 
unto myself2 all other likeness resides 
in the logic and the definition1 but has
 nothing to do with feeling or with     
practice4  ,what can be more clear and  
sound in explanation1 than the love of a
 parent to his child8 ,the affection he 
bears and its counterpart are the       
ornaments of the world1 and the spring  
of every thing that makes life worth    
having4 ,whatever besides has a tendency
 to illustrate and honour our nature1   
descends from these1 or is copied from  
these1 grows out of them as the branches
 of a tree from the trunk1 or is formed 

upon them as a model1 and derives from  
them its shape1 its character1 and its  
soul4 ,yet there are men so industrious 
and expert to strip the world we live in
 of all that adorns it1 that they can   
see nothing glorious in these           
affections1 but find the one to be all  
selfishness1 and the other all prejudice
 and superstition4  ,the love of the    
parent to his child is nursed and       
fostered by two plain considerations2   
first1 that the subject is capable of   
receiving much1 and secondly1 that my   
power concerning it is great and        
extensive4  ,when an infant is presented
 to my observation1 what a wide field of
 sentiment and reflection is opened to  
me6 ,few minds are industrious and      
ductile enough completely to compass    
this field1 if the infant is only       
accidentally brought under their view4  
,but1 if it is an infant with which ,i  
begin to be acquainted to-day1 and my   
acquaintance with which shall not end   
perhaps till one of us ceases to exist1 

how is it possible that the view of its 
little figure should not lead me to the 
meditation of its future history1 the   
successive stages of human life1 and the
 various scenes and mutations and       
vicissitudes and fortunes through which 
it is destined to pass8 ,the ,book of   
,fate lies open before me4 ,this infant1
 powerless and almost impassive now1 is 
reserved for many sorrows and many joys1
 and will one day possess a power1      
formidable and fearful to afflict those 
within its reach1 or calculated to      
diffuse blessings1 wisdom1 virtue1      
happiness1 to all around4 ,i conceive   
all the various destinations of which   
man is susceptible2 my fancy at least is
 free to select that which pleases me   
best2 ,i unfold and pursue it in all its
 directions1 observe the thorns and     
difficulties with which it is beset1 and
 conjure up to my thoughts all that it  
can boast of inviting1 delightful and   
honourable4  ,but if the infant that is 
near to me lays hold of my imagination  

and affections at the moment in which he
 falls under my observation1 how much   
more do ,i become interested in him1 as 
he advances from year to year6 ,at      
first1 ,i have the blessing of the      
gospel upon me1 in that1 having not     
seen1 yet ,i believe4 ,but1 as his      
powers expand1 ,i understand him better4
 ,his little eye begins to sparkle with 
meaning2 his tongue tells a tale that   
may be understood2 his very tones1 and  
gestures1 and attitudes1 all inform me  
concerning what he shall be4 ,i am like 
a florist1 who has received a strange   
plant from a distant country4 ,at first 
he sees only the stalk1 and the leaves1 
and the bud having yet no other colour  
than that of the leaves4 ,but as he     
watches his plant from day to day1 and  
from hour to hour1 the case which       
contains the flower divides1 and betrays
 first one colour and then another1 till
 the shell gradually subsides more and  
more towards the stalk1 and the figure  
of the flower begins now to be seen1 and

 its radiance and its pride to expand   
itself to the ravished observer4--,every
 lesson that the child leans1 every     
comment that he makes upon it1 every    
sport that he pursues1 every choice that
 he exerts1 the demeanour that he adopts
 to his playfellows1 the modifications  
and character of his little fits of     
authority or submission1 all make him   
more and more an individual to me1 and  
open a wider field for my sagacity or my
 prophecy1 as to what he promises to be1
 and what he may be made4  ,but what    
gives1 as has already been observed1 the
 point and the finish to all the        
interest ,i take respecting him1 lies in
 the vast power ,i possess to influence 
and direct his character and his        
fortune4 ,at first it is abstract power1
 but1 when it has already been exerted  
7as the writers on politics as a science
 have observed of property71 the sweat  
of my brow becomes mingled with the     
apple ,i have gathered1 and my interest 
is greater4 ,no one understands my views

 and projects entirely but myself1 and  
the scheme ,i have conceived will       
suffer1 if ,i do not complete it as ,i  
began4  ,and there are men that say1    
that all this mystery1 the most         
beautiful attitude of human nature1 and 
the crown of its glory1 is pure         
selfishness6  ,let us now turn from the 
view of the parental1 to that of the    
filial affection4  ,the great mistake   
that has been made on this subject1     
arises from the taking it nakedly and as
 a mere abstraction4 ,it has been sagely
 remarked1 that when my father did that 
which occasioned me to come into        
existence1 he intended me no benefit1   
and therefore ,i owe him no thanks4 ,and
 the inference which has been made from 
this wise position is1 that the duty of 
children to parents is a mere imposture1
 a trick1 employed by the old to defraud
 the young out of their services4  ,i   
grant most readily1 that the mere       
material ligament that binds together   
the father and the child1 by itself is  

worthless1 and that he who owes nothing 
more than this to his father1 owes him  
nothing4 ,the natural1 unanimated       
relationship is like the grain of       
mustard-seed in the discourses of ,jesus
 ,christ1 which indeed is the least of  
all seeds2 but1 when it is unfolded and 
grows up1 it becomes a mighty tree1 so  
that the birds of the air may come and  
lodge in its branches4  ,the hard and   
insensible man may know little of the   
debt he owes to his father2 but he that 
is capable of calling up the past1 and  
beholding the things that are not as if 
they now were1 will see the matter in a 
very different light4 ,incalculable are 
the privations 7in a great majority of  
instances71 the toils1 the pains1 the   
anxieties1 that every child imposes on  
his father from the first hour of his   
existence4 ,if he could know the        
ceaseless cares1 the tender and ardent  
feelings1 the almost incredible efforts 
and exertions1 that have accompanied him
 in his father's breast through the     

whole period of his growth1 instead of  
thinking that he owed his parent        
nothing1 he would stand still and wonder
 that one human creature could do so    
much for another4  ,i grant that all    
this may be done for a child by a       
stranger1 and that then in one sense the
 obligation would be greater4 ,it is    
however barely possible that all this   
should be done4 ,the stranger wants the 
first exciting cause1 the consideration1
 ,this creature by the great scheme of  
nature belongs to me1 and is cast upon  
my care4 ,and1 as the tie in the case of
 the stranger was not complete in the   
beginning1 so neither can it be made so 
in the sequel4 ,the little straggler is 
like the duckling hatched in the nest of
 a hen2 there is danger every day1 that 
as the nursling begins to be acquainted 
with its own qualities1 it may plunge   
itself into another element1 and swim   
away from its benefactor4  ,even if we  
put all these considerations out of the 
question1 still the affection of the    

child to its parent of adoption1 wants  
the kernel1 and1 if ,i may so speak1 the
 soul1 of the connection which has been 
formed and modelled by the great hand of
 nature4 ,if the mere circumstance of   
filiation and descent creates no debt1  
it however is the principle of a very   
close connection4 ,one of the most      
memorable mysteries of nature1 is how1  
out of the slightest of all connections 
7for such1 literally speaking1 is that  
between father and child71 so many      
coincidences should arise4 ,the child   
resembles his parent in feature1 in     
temperament1 in turn of mind1 and in    
class of disposition1 while at the same 
time in many particulars1 in these same 
respects1 he is a new and individual    
creature4 ,in one view therefore the    
child is merely the father multiplied   
and repeated4 ,now one of the           
indefeasible principles of affection is 
the partaking of a common nature2 and as
 man is a species by himself1 so to a   
certain degree is every nation and every

 family2 and this consideration1 when   
added to the moral and spiritual ties   
already treated of1 undoubtedly has a   
tendency to give them their zest and    
perfection4  ,but even this is not the  
most agreeable point of view in which we
 may consider the filial affection4 ,i  
come back to my first position1 that    
where there is no imagination1 there can
 be no passion1 and by consequence no   
love4 ,no parent ever understood his    
child1 and no child ever understood his 
parent4 ,we have seen that the          
affectionate parent considers his child 
like a flower in the bud1 as a mine of  
power that is to be unfolded1 as a      
creature that is to act and to pass     
through he knows not what1 as a canvas  
that gives ample room and verge enough1 
for his prophetic soul to hang over in  
endless visions1 and his intellectual   
pencil to fill up with various scenes   
and fortunes4 ,and1 if the parent does  
not understand his child1 certainly as  
little does the child understand his    

parent4 ,wherever this relation subsists
 in its fairest form1 the parent is as a
 ,god1 a being qualified with           
supernatural powers1 to his offspring4  
,the child consults his father as an    
oracle2 to him he proposes all his      
little questions2 from him he learns his
 natural philosophy1 his morals1 his    
rules of conduct1 his religion1 and his 
creed4 ,the boy is uninformed on every  
point2 and the father is a vast         
,encyclopedia1 not merely of sciences1  
but of feelings1 of sagacity1 of        
practical wisdom1 and of justice1 which 
the son consults on all occasions1 and  
never consults in vain4 ,senseless and  
inexpert is that parent1 who endeavours 
to govern the mind by authority1 and to 
lay down rugged and peremptory dogmas to
 his child2 the child is fully and      
unavoidably prepared to receive every   
thing with unbounded deference1 and to  
place total reliance in the oracle which
 nature has assigned him4 ,habits1 how  
beautiful6 ,inestimable benefit of      

nature1 that has given me a prop against
 which to sustain my unripened strength1
 and has not turned me loose to wander  
with tottering steps amidst the vast    
desert of society6  ,but it is not      
merely for contemplative wisdom that the
 child honours his parent2 he sees in   
him a vast fund of love1 attachment and 
sympathy4 ,that he cannot mistake2 and  
it is all a mystery to him4 ,he says1   
,what am ,i1 that ,i should be the      
object of this8 and whence comes it8 ,he
 sees neither the fountain from which it
 springs1 nor the banks that confine it4
 ,to him it is an ocean1 unfathomable1  
and without a shore4  ,to the bounty of 
its operations he trusts implicitly4    
,the stores of judgment and knowledge he
 finds in his father1 prompt him to     
trust it4 ,in many instances where it   
appeared at first obscure and           
enigmatical1 the event has taught him to
 acknowledge its soundness4 ,the        
mutinousness of passion will sometimes  
excite a child to question the decrees  

of his parent2 it is very long before   
his understanding1 as such1 comes to set
 up a separate system1 and teaches him  
to controvert the decisions of his      
father4  ,perhaps ,i ought earlier to   
have stated1 that the filial connection 
we have here to consider1 does not      
include those melancholy instances where
 some woful defect or utter             
worthlessness in the parent counteracts 
the natural course of the affections1   
but refers only to cases1 where the     
character of father is on the whole     
sustained with honour1 and the principle
 of the connection is left to its true  
operation4 ,in such cases the child not 
only observes for himself the           
manifestations of wisdom and goodness in
 his parent1 but is also accustomed to  
hear well of him from all around4 ,there
 is a generous conspiracy in human      
nature1 not to counteract the honour    
borne by the offspring to him from whom 
he sprung1 and the wholsome principle of
 superiority and dependence which is    

almost indispensible between persons of 
different ages dwelling under the same  
roof4 ,and1 exclusively of this         
consideration1 the men who are chiefly  
seen by the son are his father's friends
 and associates2 and it is the very     
bent1 and1 as it were1 law of our       
nature1 that we do not associate much1  
but with persons whom we favour1 and who
 are prepared to mention us with        
kindness and honour4  ,thus every way   
the child is deeply imbued with         
veneration for his parent1 and forms the
 habit of regarding him as his book of  
wisdom1 his philosopher and guide4 ,he  
is accustomed to hear him spoken of as a
 true friend1 an active ally1 and a     
pattern of justice and honour2 and he   
finds him so4 ,now these are the true   
objects of affection1--wisdom and       
beneficence2 and the human heart loves  
this beneficence better when it is      
exercised towards him who loves1 first1 
because inevitably in almost all        
instances we are best pleased with the  

good that is done to ourselves1 and     
secondly1 because it can scarcely happen
 but that we in that case understand it 
best1 both in its operation and its     
effects4  ,the active principles of     
religion are all moulded upon this      
familiar and sensible relation of father
 and child3 and to understand whet the  
human heart is capable to conceive on   
this subject1 we have only to refer to  
the many eloquent and glowing treatises 
that have been written upon the love of 
,god to his creatures1 and the love that
 the creature in return owes to his     
,god4 ,i am not now considering religion
 in a speculative point of view1 or     
enquiring among the different sects and 
systems of religion what it is that is  
true2 but merely producing religion as  
an example of what have been the        
conceptions of the human mind in        
successive ages of the world on the     
subject of love4  ,this ,all that we    
behold1 the immensity of the universe1  
the admirable harmony and subtlety of   

its structure1 as they appear in the    
vastest and the minutest bodies1 is     
considered by religion1 as the emanation
 of pure love1 a mighty impulse and     
ardour in its great author to realise   
the idea existing in his mind1 and to   
produce happiness4 ,the ,providence that
 watches over us1 so that not a sparrow 
dies unmarked1 and that the great       
,sensorium of the world vibrates1 if a  
hair of our head but falls to the ground
 in the remotest desert of his creation1
 is still unremitted1 never-satiated    
love4 ,and1 to go from this to the      
peculiarities of the ,christian         
doctrine1 ,greater love hath no man than
 this1 that a man lay down his life for 
his friends3 ,god so loved the world1   
that he gave his only-begotten ,son to  
suffer1 to be treated contumeliously1   
and to die with ignominy1 that we might 
live4  ,if on the other hand we consider
 the love which the creature must       
naturally pay to his creator1 we shall  
find that the affection we can suppose  

the most ingenuous child to bear to the 
worthiest parent1 is a very faint image 
of the passion which may be expected to 
grow out of this relation4 ,in ,god1 as 
he is represented to us in the books of 
the worthiest divines1 is every thing   
that can command love2 wisdom to        
conceive1 power to execute1 and         
beneficence actually to carry into      
effect1 whatever is excellent and       
admirable4 ,we are lost in contemplating
 the depth and immensity of his         
perfections4 ,every good and every      
perfect gift is from the universal      
,father1 with whom is no variableness1  
neither shadow of turning4 ,the most    
soothing and gratifying of all          
sentiments1 is that of entire confidence
 in the divine goodness1 a reliance     
which no adversity can shake1 and which 
supports him that entertains it under   
every calamity1 that sees the finger of 
,god in every thing that comes to pass1 
that says1 ,it is good for me to be     
afflicted1 believes1 that all things    

work together for blessings to the pious
 and the just1 and is intimately        
persuaded that our light affliction1    
which is but for a moment1 is the means 
and the earnest of a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory4  ,if we    
descend from these great archetypes1 the
 love between parent and child1 and     
between the creator and his creature1 we
 shall still find the same inequality   
the inseparable attendant upon the most 
perfect ties of affection4 ,the ancients
 seem to have conceived the truest and  
most exalted ideas on the subject of    
friendship4 ,among the most celebrated  
instances are the friendship of         
,achilles and ,patroclus1 ,orestes and  
,pylades1 ,aeneas and ,achates1 ,cyrus  
and ,araspes1 ,alexander and            
,hephaestion1 ,scipio and ,laelius4 ,in 
each of these the parties are1 the true 
hero1 the man of lofty ambition1 the    
magnificent personage in whom is        
concentred every thing that the         
historian or the poet was able to       

realise of excellence1 and the modest   
and unpretending individual in whom his 
confidence was reposed4 ,the grand      
secret of the connection is unfolded in 
the saying of the ,macedonian conqueror1
 ,craterus loves the king1 but          
,hephaestion loves ,alexander4          
,friendship is to the loftier mind the  
repose1 the unbending of the soul4 ,the 
great man 7whatever may be the          
department in which his excellence      
consists7 has enough of his greatness1  
when he stands before the world1 and    
receives the homage that is paid to his 
merits4 ,ever and anon he is anxious to 
throw aside this incumbrance1 and be as 
a man merely to a man4 ,he wishes to    
forget the pride1 pomp1 and circumstance
 of greatness1 and to be that only which
 he is himself4 ,he desires at length to
 be sure1 that he receives no adulation1
 that he is accosted with no            
insincerity1 and that the individual to 
whose society he has thought proper to  
withdraw1 has no by-ends1 no sinister   

purposes in all his thoughts4 ,what he  
seeks for1 is a true friend1 a being who
 sincerely loves1 one who is attached to
 him1 not for the accidents that attend 
him1 but for what most strictly belongs 
to him1 and of which he cannot be       
divested4 ,in this friend there is      
neither interested intention nor        
rivalry4  ,such are the characteristic  
features of the superior party in these 
exemplars of friendship among the       
ancients4 ,of the unpretending1         
unassuming party ,homer1 the great      
master of the affections and emotions in
 remoter ages1 has given us the fullest 
portrait in the character of ,patroclus4
 ,the distinguishing feature of his     
disposition is a melting and            
affectionate spirit1 the concentred     
essence of tenderness and humanity4     
,when ,patroclus comes from witnessing  
the disasters of the ,greeks1 to collect
 a report of which he had been sent by  
,achilles1 he is overwhelmed with floods
 of tears1 like a spring which pours    

down its waters from the steep edge of a
 precipice4 ,it is thus that ,jupiter   
characterises him when he lies dead in  
the field of battle3  ,thou 7addressing 
himself in his thoughts to ,hector7 hast
 slain the friend of ,achilles1 not less
 memorable for the blandness of his     
temper1 than the bravery of his deeds4  
,it is thus that ,menelaus undertakes to
 excite the ,grecian chiefs to rescue   
his body3  ,let each man recollect the  
sweetness of his disposition for1 as    
long as he lived1 he was unremitted in  
kindness to all4 ,when ,achilles        
proposes the games at the funeral1 he   
says1 ,on any other occasion my horses  
should have started for the prize1 but  
now it cannot be4 ,they have lost their 
incomparable groom1 who was accustomed  
to refresh their limbs with water1 and  
anoint their flowing manes2 and they are
 inconsolable4 ,briseis also makes her  
appearance among the mourners1 avowing  
that1 when her husband had been slain in
 battle1 and her native city laid in    

ashes1 this generous man prevented her  
tears1 averring to her1 that she should 
be the wife of her conqueror1 and that  
he would himself spread the nuptial     
banquet for her in the hero's native    
kingdom of ,phthia4  ,the reciprocity   
which belongs to a friendship between   
unequals may well be expected to give a 
higher zest to their union4 ,each party 
is necessary to the other4 ,the superior
 considers him towards whom he pours out
 his affection1 as a part of himself4   
,the head is not more native to the     
heart1      ,the hand more instrumental 
to the mouth4  ,he cannot separate      
himself from him1 but at the cost of a  
fearful maim4 ,when the world is shut   
out by him1 when he retires into        
solitude1 and falls back upon himself1  
then his unpretending friend is most of 
all necessary to him4 ,he is his        
consolation and his pleasure1 the safe  
coffer in which he reposits all his     
anxieties and sorrows4 ,if the          
principal1 instead of being a public    

man1 is a man of science1 this kind of  
unbending becomes certainly not the less
 welcome to him4 ,he wishes occasionally
 to forget the severity of his          
investigations1 neither to have his mind
 any longer wound up and stretched to   
the height of meditation1 nor to feel   
that he needs to be any way on his      
guard1 or not completely to give the    
rein to all his sallies and the         
sportiveness of his soul4 ,having been  
for a considerable time shut up in      
sequestered reflection1 he wishes1 it   
may be1 to have the world1 the busy     
impassioned world1 brought to his ears1 
without his being obliged to enter into 
its formalities and mummeries4 ,if he   
desires to speak of the topics which had
 so deeply engaged him1 he can keep as  
near the edge as he pleases1 and drop or
 resume them as his fancy may prompt4   
,and it seems useless to say1 how much  
his modest and unassuming friend will be
 gratified in being instrumental to     
relieve the labours of his principal1 in

 feeling that he is necessary to him1   
and in meditating on the delight he     
receives in being made the chosen       
companion and confident of him whom he  
so ardently admires4 ,it was precisely  
in this spirit1 that ,fulke ,greville1  
two hundred years ago1 directed that it 
should be inscribed on his tomb1 ,here  
lies the friend of ,sir ,philip ,sidney4
 ,tenderness on the one part1 and a deep
 feeling of honour and respect on the   
other1 give a completeness to the union 
which it must otherwise for ever want4  
,there is no limit1 none1 to the fervour
 with which the stronger goes forward to
 protect the weak2 while in return the  
less powerful would encounter a thousand
 deaths rather than injury should befall
 the being to whom in generosity and    
affection he owes so much4  ,in the mean
 time1 though inequality is necessary to
 give this completeness to friendship1  
the inequality must not be too great4   
,the inferior party must be able to     
understand and appreciate the sense and 

the merits of him to whom he is thus    
bound4 ,there must be no impediment to  
hinder the communications of the        
principal from being fully comprehended1
 and his sentiments entirely            
participated4 ,there must be a boundless
 confidence1 without apprehension that  
the power of the stronger party can by  
the remotest possibility be put forth   
ungenerously4 ,perfect love casteth out 
fear4 ,the evangelist applies this      
aphorism even to the love of the        
creature to his creator4 ,the ,lord     
spake unto ,moses1 face to face1 as a   
man speaketh unto his friend4 ,in the   
union of which ,i am treating the       
demonstrative and ordinary appearance   
will be that of entire equality1 which  
is heightened by the inner1 and for the 
greater part unexplained and            
undeveloped1 impression of a contrary   
nature4 ,there is in either party a     
perfect reliance1 an idea of inequality 
with the most entire assurance that it  
can never operate unworthily in the     

stronger party1 or produce insincerity  
or servility in the weaker4 ,there will 
in reality always be some reserve1 some 
shadow of fear between equals1 which in 
the friendship of unequals1 if happily  
assorted1 can find no place4 ,there is a
 pouring out of the heart on the one    
side1 and a cordial acceptance on the   
other1 which words are inadequate to    
describe4  ,to proceed4 ,if from        
friendship we go forward to that which  
in all languages is emphatically called 
love1 we shall still find ourselves     
dogged and attended by inequality4      
,nothing can be more certain1 however we
 may seek to modify and abate it1 than  
the inequality of the sexes4 ,let us    
attend to it as it stands in ,milton3   
,for contemplation he and velour formed 
,for softness she and sweet attractive  
grace2       ,he for ,god only1 she for 
,god in him4  ,thus it is painted to us 
as having been in ,paradise2 and with   
similar inequality have the sexes       
subsisted in all ages and nations since4

 ,if it were possible to take from the  
fair sex its softness and attractive    
grace1 and endow it instead with        
audacious1 masculine and military       
qualities1 there is scarcely any one    
that does not perceive1 with whatever   
advantages it might be attended in other
 respects1 that it would be far from    
tending to cherish and increase the     
passion of love4  ,it is in reality     
obvious1 that man and woman1 as they    
come from the hands of nature1 are so   
much upon a par with each other1 as not 
to afford the best subjects between whom
 to graft a habit of entire1 unalterable
 affection4 ,in the scenes of vulgar and
 ordinary society1 a permanent          
connection between persons of opposite  
sexes is too apt to degenerate into a   
scene of warfare1 where each party is   
for ever engaged in a struggle for      
superiority1 and neither will give way4 
,a penetrating observer1 with whom in   
former days ,i used intimately to       
converse1 was accustomed to say1 that   

there was generally more jarring and ill
 blood between the two parties in the   
first year of their marriage1 than      
during all the remainder of their lives4
 ,it is at length found necessary1 as   
between equally matched belligerents on 
the theatre of history1 that they should
 come to terms1 make a treaty of peace1 
or at least settle certain laws of      
warfare1 that they may not waste their  
strength in idle hostilities4  ,the     
nations of antiquity had a way of       
settling this question in a very summary
 mode4 ,as certain ,oriental tribes have
 determined that women have no souls1   
and that nothing can be more proper than
 to shut them up1 like singing birds in 
cages1 so the ,greeks and ,romans for   
the most part excluded their females    
from the society of the more martial    
sex4 ,marriage with them was a          
convenience merely2 and the husband and 
wife were in reality nothing more than  
the master and the slave4 ,this point   
once settled as a matter of national    

law1 there was certainly in most cases  
little danger of any vexatious rivalship
 and struggle for power4  ,but there is 
nothing in which the superiority of     
modern times over the ancient has been  
more conspicuous1 than in our sentiments
 and practices on this subject4 ,this   
superiority1 as well as several other of
 our most valuable acquisitions1 took   
its rise in what we call the dark ages4 
,chivalry was for the most part the     
invention of the eleventh century4 ,its 
principle was built upon a theory of the
 sexes1 giving to each a relative       
importance1 and assigning to both       
functions full of honour and grace4 ,the
 knights 7and every gentleman during    
that period in due time became a knight7
 were taught1 as the main features of   
their vocation1 the love of ,god and the
 ladies4 ,the ladies in return were     
regarded as the genuine censors of the  
deeds of knighthood4 ,from these        
principles arose a thousand lessons of  
humanity4 ,the ladies regarded it as    

their glory to assist their champions to
 arm and to disarm1 to perform for them 
even menial services1 to attend them in 
sickness1 and to dress their wounds4    
,they bestowed on them their colours1   
and sent them forth to the field        
hallowed with their benedictions4 ,the  
knights on the other hand considered any
 slight towards the fair sex as an      
indelible stain to their order2 they    
contemplated the graceful patronesses of
 their valour with a feeling that       
partook of religious homage and         
veneration1 and esteemed it as perhaps  
the first duty of their profession1 to  
relieve the wrongs1 and avenge the      
injuries of the less powerful sex4      
,this simple outline as to the relative 
position of the one sex and the other1  
gave a new face to the whole scheme and 
arrangements of civil society4 ,it is   
like those admirable principles in the  
order of the material universe1 or those
 grand discoveries brought to light from
 time to time by superior genius1 so    

obvious and simple1 that we wonder the  
most common understanding could have    
missed them1 yet so pregnant with       
results1 that they seem at once to put a
 new life and inspire a new character   
into every part of a mighty and         
all-comprehensive mass4  ,the passion   
between the sexes1 in its grosser sense1
 is a momentary impulse merely2 and     
there was danger that1 when the fit and 
violence of the passion was over1 the   
whole would subside into inconstancy and
 a roving disposition1 or at least into 
indifference and almost brutal neglect4 
,but the institutions of chivalry       
immediately gave a new face to this4    
,either sex conceived a deep and        
permanent interest in the other4 ,in the
 unsettled state of society which       
characterised the period when these     
institutions arose1 the defenceless were
 liable to assaults of multiplied kinds1
 and the fair perpetually stood in need 
of a protector and a champion4 ,the     
knights on the other hand were taught to

 derive their fame and their honour from
 the suffrages of the ladies4 ,each sex 
stood in need of the other2 and the     
basis of their union was mutual esteem4 
,the effect of this was to give a hue of
 imagination to all their intercourse4  
,a man was no longer merely a man1 nor a
 woman merely a woman4 ,they were taught
 mutual deference4 ,the woman regarded  
her protector as something illustrious  
and admirable2 and the man considered   
the smiles and approbation of beauty as 
the adequate reward of his toils and his
 dangers4 ,these modes of thinking      
introduced a nameless grace into all the
 commerce of society4 ,it was the poetry
 of life4 ,hence originated the         
delightful narratives and fictions of   
romance2 and human existence was no     
longer the bare1 naked train of vulgar  
incidents1 which for so many ages of the
 world it had been accustomed to be4 ,it
 was clothed in resplendent hues1 and   
wore all the tints of the rainbow4      
,equality fled and was no more2 and     

love1 almighty1 perdurable love1 came to
 supply its place4  ,by means of this   
state of things the vulgar impulse of   
the sexes towards each other1 which     
alone was known to the former ages of   
the world1 was transformed into somewhat
 of a totally different nature4 ,it     
became a kind of worship4 ,the fair sex 
looked upon their protectors1 their     
fathers1 their husbands1 and the whole  
train of their chivalry1 as something   
more than human4 ,there was a grace in  
their motions1 a gallantry in their     
bearing1 and a generosity in their      
spirit of enterprise1 that the softness 
of the female heart found irresistible4 
,nor less on the other hand did the     
knights regard the sex to whose service 
and defence they were sworn1 as the     
objects of their perpetual deference4   
,they approached them with a sort of    
gallant timidity1 listened to their     
behests with submission1 and thought the
 longest courtship and devotion nobly   
recompensed by the final acceptance of  

the fair4  ,the romance and exaggeration
 characteristic of these modes of       
thinking have gradually worn away in    
modern times2 but much of what was most 
valuable in them has remained4 ,love has
 in later ages never been divested of   
the tenderness and consideration1 which 
were thus rendered some of its most     
estimable features4 ,a certain desire in
 each party to exalt the other1 and     
regard it as worthy of admiration1      
became inextricably interwoven with the 
simple passion4 ,a sense of the honour  
that was borne by the one to the other1 
had the happiest effect in qualifying   
the familiarity and unreserve in the    
communion of feelings and sentiments1   
without which the attachment of the     
sexes cannot subsist4 ,it is something  
like what the mystic divines describe of
 the beatific vision1 where entire      
wonder and adoration are not judged to  
be incompatible with the most ardent    
affection1 and all meaner and selfish   
regards are annihilated4  ,from what has

 been thus drawn together and           
recapitulated it seems clearly to       
follow1 as was stated in the beginning1 
that love cannot exist in its purest    
form and with a genuine ardour1 where   
the parties are1 and are felt by each   
other to be1 on an equality2 but that in
 all cases it is requisite there should 
be a mutual deference and submission1   
agreeably to the apostolic precept1     
,likewise all of you be subject one to  
the other4 ,there must be room for the  
imagination to exercise its powers2 we  
must conceive and apprehend a thousand  
things which we do not actually witness2
 each party must feel that it stands in 
need of the other1 and without the other
 cannot be complete2 each party must be 
alike conscious of the power of         
receiving and conferring benefit2 and   
there must be the anticipation of a     
distant future1 that may every day      
enhance the good to be imparted and     
enjoyed1 and cause the individuals thus 
united perpetually to become more       

sensible of the fortunate event which   
gave them to each other1 and has thus   
entailed upon each a thousand advantages
 in which they could otherwise never    
have shared4     ,,essay ,,xvi4 ,,of    
,,frankness ,,and ,,reserve4  ,animals  
are divided into the solitary and the   
are gregarious3 the former being only   
occasionally associated with its mate1  
and perhaps engaged in the care of its  
offspring2 the latter spending their    
lives in herds and communities4 ,man is 
of this last class or division4  ,where 
the animals of any particular species   
live much in society1 it seems requisite
 that in some degree they should be able
 to understand each other's purposes1   
and to act with a certain portion of    
concert4  ,all other animals are        
exceedingly limited in their powers of  
communication4 ,but speech renders that 
being whom we justly entitle the lord of
 the creation1 capable of a boundless   
interchange of ideas and intentions4    
,not only can we communicate to each    

other substantively our elections and   
preferences3 we can also exhort and     
persuade1 and employ reasons and        
arguments to convince our fellows1 that 
the choice we have made is also worthy  
of their adoption4 ,we can express our  
thoughts1 and the various lights and    
shades1 the bleedings1 of our thoughts4 
,language is an instrument capable of   
being perpetually advanced in           
copiousness1 perspicuity and power4  ,no
 principle of morality can be more just1
 than that which teaches us to regard   
every faculty we possess as a power     
intrusted to us for the benefit of      
others as well as of ourselves1 and     
which therefore we are bound to employ  
in the way which shall best conduce to  
the general advantage4  ,speech was     
given us1 that by it we might express   
our thoughts7#cd72 in other words1 our  
impressions1 ideas and conceptions4 ,we 
then therefore best fulfil the scope of 
our nature1 when we sincerely and       
unreservedly communicate to each other  

our feelings and apprehensions4 ,speech 
should be to man in the nature of a fair
 complexion1 the transparent medium     
through which the workings of the mind  
should be made legible4      7#cd7      
,moliere4   ,i think ,i have somewhere  
read of ,socrates1 that certain of his  
friends expostulated with him1 that the 
windows of his house were so constructed
 that every one who went by could       
discover all that passed within4 ,and   
wherefore not8 said the sage4 ,i do     
nothing that ,i would wish to have      
concealed from any human eye4 ,if ,i    
knew that all the world observed every  
thing ,i did1 ,i should feel no         
inducement to change my conduct in the  
minutest particular4  ,it is not however
 practicable that frankness should be   
carried to the extent above mentioned4  
,it has been calculated that the human  
mind is capable of being impressed with 
three hundred and twenty sensations in a
 second of time4 ,at all events we well 
know that1 even while ,i am speaking1 a 

variety of sensations are experienced by
 me1 without so much as interrupting1   
that is1 without materially diverting1  
the train of my ideas4 ,my eye          
successively remarks a thousand objects 
that present themselves1 and my mind    
wanders to the different parts of my    
body1 without occasioning the minutest  
obstacle to my discourse1 or my being in
 any degree distracted by the           
multiplicity of these objects7#ce74 ,it 
is therefore beyond the reach of the    
faculty of speech1 for me to communicate
 all the sensations ,i experience2 and  
,i am of necessity reduced to a         
selection4      7#ce7 ,see above1 ,essay
 #g4   ,nor is this the whole4 ,we do   
not communicate all that we feel1 and   
all that we think2 for this would be    
impertinent4 ,we owe a certain deference
 and consideration to our fellow-men2 we
 owe it in reality to ourselves4 ,we do 
not communicate indiscriminately all    
that passes within us4 ,the time would  
fail us2 and the world would not contain

 the books that might be written4 ,we do
 not speak merely for the sake of       
speaking2 otherwise the communication of
 man with his fellow would be but one   
eternal babble4 ,speech is to be        
employed for some useful purpose2 nor   
ought we to give utterance to any thing 
that shall not promise to be in some way
 productive of benefit or amusement4    
,frankness has its limits1 beyond which 
it would cease to be either advantageous
 or virtuous4 ,we are not to tell every 
thing3 but we are not to conceal any    
thing1 that it would be useful or       
becoming in us to utter4 ,our first duty
 regarding the faculty of speech is1 not
 to keep back what it would be          
beneficial to our neighbour to know4    
,but this is a negative sincerity only4 
,if we would acquire a character for    
frankness1 we must be careful that our  
conversation is such1 as to excite in   
him the idea that we are open1 ingenuous
 and fearless4 ,we must appear forward  
to speak all that will give him         

pleasure1 and contribute to maintain in 
him an agreeable state of being4 ,it    
must be obvious that we are not         
artificial and on our guard4--,after    
all1 it is difficult to lay down rules  
on this subject3 the spring of whatever 
is desirable respecting it1 must be in  
the temper of the man with whom others  
have intercourse4 ,he must be           
benevolent1 sympathetic and             
affectionate4 ,his heart must overflow  
with good-will2 and he must be anxious  
to relieve every little pain1 and to    
contribute to the enjoyment and         
complacent feelings1 of those with whom 
he is permanently or accidentally       
connected4 ,out of the abundance of the 
heart the mouth speaketh4  ,there are   
two considerations by which we ought to 
be directed in the exercise of the      
faculty of speech4  ,the first is1 that 
we should tell our neighbour all that it
 would be useful to him to know4 ,we    
must have no sinister or bye ends4 ,no  
man liveth to himself4 ,we are all of us

 members of the great congregation of   
mankind4 ,the same blood should         
circulate through every limb and every  
muscle4 ,our pulses should beat time to 
each other2 and we should have one      
common sensorium1 vibrating throughout1 
upon every material accident that       
occurs1 and when any object is at stake 
essentially affecting the welfare of our
 fellow-beings4 ,we should forget       
ourselves in the interest that we feel  
for the happiness of others2 and1 if    
this were universal1 each man would be a
 gainer1 inasmuch as he lost himself1   
and was cared and watched for by many4  
,in all these respects we must have no  
reserve4 ,we should only consider what  
it is that it would be beneficial to    
have declared4  ,we must not look back  
to ourselves1 and consult the dictates  
of a narrow and self-interested         
prudence4 ,the whole essence of         
communication is adulterated1 if1       
instead of attending to the direct      
effects of what suggests itself to our  

tongue1 we are to consider how by a     
circuitous route it may react upon our  
own pleasures and advantage4  ,nor only 
are we bound to communicate to our      
neighbour all that it will be useful to 
him to know4 ,we have many neighbours1  
beside those to whom we immediately     
address ourselves4 ,to these our absent 
fellow-beings1 we owe a thousand duties4
 ,we are bound to defend those whom we  
hear aspersed1 and who are spoken       
unworthily of by the persons whom we    
incidentally encounter4 ,we should be   
the forward and spontaneous advocates of
 merit in every shape and in every      
individual in whom we know it to exist4 
,what a character would that man make   
for himself1 of whom it was notorious   
that he consecrated his faculty of      
speech to the refuting unjust           
imputations against whomsoever they were
 directed1 to the contradicting all     
false and malicious reports1 and to the 
bringing forth obscure and unrecognised 
worth from the shades in which it lay   

hid6 ,what a world should we live in1 if
 all men were thus prompt and fearless  
to do justice to all the worth they knew
 or apprehended to exist6 ,justice1     
simple justice1 if it extended no       
farther than barely to the faculty of   
speech1 would in no long time put down  
all misrepresentation and calumny1 bring
 all that is good and meritorious into  
honour1 and1 so to speak1 set every man 
in his true and rightful position4 ,but 
whoever would attempt this1 must do it  
in all honour1 without parade1 and with 
no ever-and-anon looking back upon his  
achievement1 and saying1 ,see to how    
much credit ,i am entitled6--as if he   
laid more stress upon himself1 the doer 
of this justice1 than upon justice in   
its intrinsic nature and claims4  ,but  
we not only owe something to the        
advantage and interest of our           
neighbours1 but something also to the   
sacred divinity of ,truth4 ,i am not    
only to tell my neighbour whatever ,i   
know that may be beneficial to him1     

respecting his position in society1 his 
faults1 what other men appear to        
contemplate that may conduce to his     
advantage or injury1 and to advise him  
how the one may best be forwarded1 or   
the other defeated and brought to       
nothing3 ,i am bound also to consider in
 what way it may be in my power so to   
act on his mind1 as shall most enlarge  
his views1 confirm and animate his good 
resolutions1 and meliorate his          
dispositions and temper4 ,we are all    
members of one great community3 and we  
shall never sufficiently discharge our  
duty in that respect1 till1 like the    
ancient ,spartans1 the love of the whole
 becomes our predominant passion1 and we
 cease to imagine that we belong to     
ourselves1 so much as to the entire body
 of which we are a part4 ,there are     
certain views in morality1 in politics1 
and various other important subjects1   
the general prevalence of which will be 
of the highest benefit to the society of
 which we are members2 and it becomes us

 in this respect1 with proper temperance
 and moderation1 to conform ourselves to
 the zealous and fervent precept of the 
apostle1 to promulgate the truth and be 
instant1 in season and out of season1   
that we may by all means leave some     
monument of our good intentions behind  
us1 and feel that we have not lived in  
vain4  ,there is a maxim extremely in   
vogue in the ordinary intercourses of   
society1 which deserves to be noticed   
here1 for the purpose of exposing it to 
merited condemnation4 ,it is very common
 between friends1 or persons calling    
themselves such1 to say1 ,do not ask my 
advice in a certain crisis of your life2
 ,i will not give it2 hereafter1 if the 
thing turns out wrong1 you will reflect 
on me1 and say that it was at my        
suggestion that you were involved in    
calamity4 ,this is a dastardly excuse1  
and shews a pitiful selfishness in the  
man that urges it4  ,it is true1 that we
 ought ever to be on the alert1 that we 
may not induce our friend into evil4 ,we

 should be upon our guard1 that we may  
not from overweening arrogance and      
self-conceit dictate to another1        
overpower his more sober judgment1 and  
assume a rashness for him1 in which     
perhaps we would not dare to indulge for
 ourselves4 ,we should be modest in our 
suggestions1 and rather supply him with 
materials for decision1 than with a     
decision absolutely made4 ,there may    
however be cases where an opposite      
proceeding is necessary4 ,we must arrest
 our friend1 nay1 even him who is merely
 our fellow-creature1 with a strong arm1
 when we see him hovering on the brink  
of a precipice1 or the danger is so     
obvious1 that nothing but absolute      
blindness could conceal it from an      
impartial bystander4  ,but in all cases 
our best judgment should always be at   
the service of our brethren of mankind4 
,give to him that asketh thee2 and from 
him that would borrow of thee turn not  
thou away4  ,this may not always be     
practicable or just1 when applied to the

 goods of fortune3 but the case of      
advice1 information1 and laws of        
conduct1 comes within that of ,ennius1  
to suffer our neighbour to light his    
candle at our lamp4 ,to do so will      
enrich him1 without making us a jot the 
poorer4 ,we should indeed respect the   
right of private judgment1 and scarcely 
in any case allow our will to supersede 
his will in his own proper province4    
,but we should on no account suffer any 
cowardly fears for ourselves1 to induce 
us to withhold from him any assistance  
that our wider information or our       
sounder judgment might supply to him4   
,the next consideration by which we     
should be directed in the exercise of   
the faculty of speech1 is that we should
 employ it so as should best conduce to 
the pleasure of our neighbour4 ,man is a
 different creature in the savage and   
the civilised state4 ,it has been       
affirmed1 and it may be true1 that the  
savage man is a stranger to that        
disagreeable frame of mind1 known by the

 name of ennui4 ,he can pore upon the   
babbling stream1 or stretch himself upon
 a sunny bank1 from the rising to the   
setting of the sun1 and be satisfied4   
,he is scarcely roused from this torpid 
state but by the cravings of nature4 ,if
 they can be supplied without effort1 he
 immediately relapses into his former   
supineness2 and1 if it requires search1 
industry and exertion to procure their  
gratification1 he still more eagerly    
embraces the repose1 which previous     
fatigue renders doubly welcome4  ,but1  
when the mind has once been wakened up  
from its original lethargy1 when we have
 overstepped the boundary which divides 
the man from the beast1 and are made    
desirous of improvement1 while at the   
same moment the tumultuous passions that
 draw us in infinitely diversified      
directions are called into act1 the case
 becomes exceedingly different4 ,it     
might be difficult at first to rouse man
 from his original lethargy3 it is next 
to impossible that he should ever again 

be restored to it4 ,the appetite of the 
mind being once thoroughly awakened in  
society1 the human species are found to 
be perpetually craving after new        
intellectual food4 ,we read1 we write1  
we discourse1 we ford rivers1 and scale 
mountains1 and engage in various        
pursuits1 for the pure pleasure that the
 activity and earnestness of the pursuit
 afford us4 ,the day of the savage and  
the civilised man are still called by   
the same name4 ,they may be measured by 
a pendulum1 and will be found to be of  
the same duration4 ,but in all other    
points of view they are inexpressibly   
different4  ,hence therefore arises     
another duty that is incumbent upon us  
as to the exercise of the faculty of    
speech4 ,this duty will be more or less 
urgent according to the situation in    
which we are placed4  ,if ,i sit down in
 a numerous assembly1 if ,i become one  
of a convivial party of ten or twelve   
persons1 ,i may unblamed be for the     
greater part1 or entirely silent1 if ,i 

please4 ,i must appear to enter into    
their sentiments and pleasures1 or1 if  
,i do not1 ,i shall be an unwelcome     
guest2 but it may scarcely be required  
for me to clothe my feelings with       
articulate speech4  ,but1 when my       
society shall be that of a few friends  
only1 and still more if the question is 
of spending hours or days in the society
 of a single friend1 my duty becomes    
altered1 and a greater degree of        
activity will be required from me4      
,there are cases1 where the minor morals
 of the species will be of more         
importance than those which in their own
 nature are cardinal4 ,duties of the    
highest magnitude will perhaps only be  
brought into requisition upon           
extraordinary occasions2 but the        
opportunities we have of lessening the  
inconveniences of our neighbour1 or of  
adding to his accommodations and the    
amount of his agreeable feelings1 are   
innumerable4 ,an acceptable and welcome 
member of society therefore will not    

talk1 only when he has something        
important to communicate4 ,he will also 
study how he may amuse his friend with  
agreeable narratives1 lively remarks1   
sallies of wit1 or any of those thousand
 nothings1 which' set off with a wish to
 please and a benevolent temper1 will   
often entertain more and win the entire 
good will of the person to whom they are
 addressed1 than the wisest discourse1  
or the vein of conversation which may   
exhibit the powers and genius of the    
speaker to the greatest advantage4  ,men
 of a dull and saturnine complexion will
 soon get to an end of all they felt it 
incumbent on them to say to their       
comrades4 ,but the same thing will      
probably happen1 though at a much later 
period1 between friends of an active    
mind1 of the largest stores of          
information1 and whose powers have been 
exercised upon the greatest variety of  
sentiments1 principles1 and original    
veins of thinking4 ,when two such men   
first fall into society1 each will feel 

as if he had found a treasure4 ,their   
communications are without end2 their   
garrulity is excited1 and converts into 
a perennial spring4 ,the topics upon    
which they are prompted to converse are 
so numerous1 that one seems to jostle   
out the other4  ,it may proceed thus    
from day to day1 from month to month1   
and perhaps from year to year4 ,but1    
according to the old proverb1 ,it is a  
long lane that has no turning4 ,the     
persons here described will have a vast 
variety of topics upon which they are   
incited to compare their opinions1 and  
will lay down these topics and take them
 up again times without number4 ,upon   
some1 one of the parties will feel      
himself entirely at home while the other
 is comparatively a novice1 and1 in     
others1 the advantage will be with the  
other2 so that the gain of both1 in this
 free and unrestrained opening of the   
soul1 will be incalculable4 ,but the    
time will come1 like as in perusing an  
author of the most extraordinary genius 

and the most versatile powers1 that the 
reading of each other's minds will be   
exhausted4 ,they know so much of each   
other's tone of thinking1 that all that 
can be said will be anticipated4 ,the   
living voice1 the sparkling eye1 and the
 beaming countenance will do much to put
 off the evil day1 when we shall say1 ,i
 have had enough4 ,but the time will    
come in which we shall feel that this   
after all is but little1 and we shall   
become sluggish1 ourselves to           
communicate1 or to excite the dormant   
faculties of our friend1 when the       
spring1 the waters of which so long     
afforded us the most exquisite delight1 
is at length drawn dry4  ,i remember in 
my childish years being greatly struck  
with that passage in the ,bible1 where  
it is written1 ,but ,i say unto you1    
that1 for every idle word that men shall
 speak1 they shall give an account in   
the day of judgment3 and1 as ,i was very
 desirous of conforming myself to the   
directions of the sacred volume1 ,i was 

upon the point of forming a sort of     
resolution1 that ,i would on no account 
open my mouth to speak1 without having a
 weighty reason for uttering the thing  
,i felt myself prompted to say4  ,but   
practical directions of this sort are   
almost in all cases of ambiguous        
interpretation4 ,from the context of    
this passage it is clear1 that by idle  
words we are to understand vicious      
words1 words tending to instil into the 
mind unauthorised impulses1 that shew in
 the man who speaks a will most rank1   
foul disproportion1 thoughts unnatural1 
and are calculated to render him by whom
 they are listened to1 light and        
frivolous of temper1 and unstrung for   
the graver duties of human life4  ,but  
idle words1 in the sense of innocent    
amusement1 are not vicious4 ,there is a 
time for all things4 ,amusement must not
 encroach upon or thrust aside the real 
business1 the important engagements1 and
 the animated pursuits of man4 ,but it  
is entitled to take its turn unreproved4

 ,human life is so various1 and the     
disposition and temper of the mind of so
 different tones and capacity1 that a   
wise man will frame his face to all     
occasions4 ,playfulness1 if not carried 
to too great an extreme1 is an          
additional perfection in human nature4  
,we become relieved from our more       
serious cares1 and better fitted to     
enter on them again after an interval4  
,to fill up the days of our lives with  
various engagements1 to make one        
occupation succeed to another1 so as to 
liberate us from the pains of ennui1 and
 the dangers of what may in an          
emphatical sense be called idleness1 is 
no small desideratum4 ,that king may in 
this sense be admitted to have formed no
 superficial estimate of our common     
nature1 who is said to have proclaimed a
 reward to the individual that should   
invent a new amusement4  ,and1 to       
consider the question as it stands in   
relation to the subject of the present  
,essay1 a perpetual gravity and a       

vigilant watch to be placed on the door 
of our lips1 would be eminently hostile 
to that frankness which is to be        
regarded as one of the greatest         
ornaments of our nature4 ,it is meet1   
that we should make merry and be glad4  
,a formal countenance1 a demure1 careful
 and unaltered cast of features1 is one 
of the most disadvantageous aspects     
under which human nature can exhibit    
itself4 ,the temper must be enterprising
 and fearless1 the manner firm and      
assured1 and the correspondence between 
the heart and the tongue prompt and     
instantaneous1 if we desire to have that
 view of man that shall do him the most 
credit1 and induce us to form the most  
honourable opinion respecting him4 ,on  
our front should sit fearless confidence
 and unsubdued hilarity4 ,our limbs     
should be free and unfettered1 a state  
of the animal which imparts a grace     
infinitely more winning than that of the
 most skilful dancer4 ,the very sound of
 our voice should be full1 firm1 mellow1

 and fraught with life and sensibility2 
of that nature1 at the hearing of which 
every bosom rises1 and every eye is     
lighted up4 ,it is thus that men come to
 understand and confide in each other4  
,this is the only frame that can        
perfectly conduce to our moral          
improvement1 the awakening of our       
faculties1 the diffusion of science1 and
 the establishment of the purest notions
 and principles of civil and political  
liberty4     ,,essay ,,xvii4 ,,of       
,,ballot4  ,the subject of the preceding
 ,essay leads by an obvious transition  
to the examination of a topic1 which at 
present occupies to a considerable      
extent the attention of those who are   
anxious for the progress of public      
improvement1 and the placing the        
liberties of mankind on the securest    
basis3 ,i mean1 the topic of the vote by
 ballot4  ,it is admitted that the most 
beneficial scheme for the government of 
nations1 is a government by             
representation3 that is1 that there     

shall be in every nation1 or large      
collection of men1 a paramount          
legislative assembly1 composed of       
deputies chosen by the people in their  
respective counties1 cities1 towns1 or  
departments4 ,in what manner then shall 
these deputies be elected8  ,the        
argument in favour of the election by   
ballot is obvious4  ,in nearly all      
civilised countries there exists more or
 less an inequality of rank and         
property3 we will confine our attention 
principally to the latter4  ,property   
necessarily involves influence4 ,mankind
 are but too prone to pay a superior    
deference to those who wear better      
clothes1 live in larger houses1 and     
command superior accommodations to those
 which fall to the lot of the majority4 
,one of the main sources of wealth in   
civilised nations is the possession of  
land4 ,those who have a considerable    
allotment of land in property1 for the  
most part let it out in farms on lease  
or otherwise to persons of an inferior  

rank1 by whom it is cultivated4 ,in this
 case a reciprocal relation is created  
between the landlord and the tenant3    
and1 if the landlord conducts himself   
towards his tenant agreeably to the     
principles of honour and liberality1 it 
is impossible that the tenant should not
 feel disposed to gratify his landlord1 
so far as shall be compatible with his  
own notions of moral rectitude1 or the  
paramount interests of the society of   
which he is a member4  ,if the          
proprietor of any extensive allotment of
 land does not let it out in farms1 but 
retains it under his own direction1 he  
must employ a great number of husbandmen
 and labourers2 and over them he must be
 expected to exercise the same sort of  
influence1 as under the former statement
 we supposed him to exercise over his   
tenants4  ,the same principle will still
 operate wherever any one man in society
 is engaged in the expenditure of a     
considerable capital4 ,the manufacturer 
will possess the same influence over his

 workmen1 as the landed proprietor over 
his tenants or labourers4 ,even the     
person who possesses considerable       
opulence1 and has no intention to engage
 in the pursuits of profit or           
accumulation1 will have an ample        
retinue1 and will be enabled to use the 
same species of influence over his      
retainers and trades-people1 as the     
landlord exercises over his tenants and 
labourers1 and the manufacturer over his
 workmen4  ,a certain degree of this    
species of influence in society1 is     
perhaps not to be excepted against4 ,the
 possessor of opulence in whatever form1
 may be expected to have received a     
superior education1 and1 being placed at
 a certain distance from the minuter    
details and the lesser wheels in the    
machine of society1 to have larger and  
more expansive views as to the interests
 of the whole4 ,it is good that men in  
different ranks of society should be    
brought into intercourse with each      
other2 it will subtract something from  

the prejudices of both1 and enable each 
to obtain some of the advantages of the 
other4 ,the division of rank is too much
 calculated to split society into       
parties having a certain hostility to   
each other4 ,in a free state we are all 
citizens3 it is desirable that we should
 all be friends4  ,but this species of  
influence may be carried too far4 ,to a 
certain extent it is good4 ,inasmuch as 
it implies the enlightening one human   
understanding by the sparks struck out  
from another1 or even the communication 
of feelings between man and man1 this is
 not to be deprecated4 ,some degree of  
courteous compliance and deference of   
the ignorant to the better informed1 is 
inseparable from the existence of       
political society as we behold it2 such 
a deference as we may conceive the      
candid and conscientious layman to pay  
to the suggestions of his honest and    
disinterested pastor4  ,every thing     
however that is more than this1 is evil4
 ,there should be no peremptory         

mandates1 and no threat or apprehension 
of retaliation and mischief to follow1  
if the man of inferior station or       
opulence should finally differ in       
opinion from his wealthier neighbour4   
,we may admit of a moral influence2 but 
there must be nothing1 that should in   
the smallest degree border on           
compulsion4  ,but it is unfortunately in
 the very nature of weak1 erring and    
fallible mortals1 to make an ill use of 
the powers that are confided to their   
discretion4 ,the rich man in the        
wantonness of his authority will not    
stop at moral influence1 but1 if he is  
disappointed of his expectation by what 
he will call my wilfulness and          
obstinacy1 will speedily find himself   
impelled to vindicate his prerogative1  
and to punish my resistance4 ,in every  
such disappointment he will discern a   
dangerous precedent1 and will apprehend 
that1 if ,i escape with impunity1 the   
whole of that ascendancy1 which he has  
regarded as one of the valuable         

privileges contingent to his station1   
will be undermined4  ,opulence has two  
ways of this grosser sort1 by which it  
may enable its possessor to command the 
man below him1--punishment and reward4  
,as the holder1 for example1 of a large 
landed estate1 or the administrator of  
an ample income1 may punish the man who 
shews himself refractory to his will1 so
 he may also reward the individual who  
yields to his suggestions4 ,this1 in    
whatever form it presents itself1 may be
 classed under the general head of      
bribery4  ,the remedy for all this      
therefore1 real or potential1 mischief1 
is said to lie in the vote by ballot1 a 
contrivance1 by means of which every man
 shall be enabled to give his vote in   
favour of or against any candidate that 
shall be nominated1 in absolute secrecy1
 without it being possible for any one  
to discover on which side the elector   
decided1--nay1 a contrivance1 by which  
the elector is invited to practise      
mystery and concealment1 inasmuch as it 

would seem an impertinence in him to    
speak out1 when the law is expressly    
constructed to bid him act and be       
silent4 ,if he speaks1 he is guilty of a
 sort of libel on his brother-electors1 
who are hereby implicitly reproached by 
him for their impenetrableness and      
cowardice4  ,we are told that the       
institution of the ballot is            
indispensible to the existence of a free
 state1 in a country where the goods of 
fortune are unequally distributed4 ,in  
,england1 as the right of sending       
members to parliament is apportioned at 
the time ,i am writing1 the power of    
electing is bestowed with such glaring  
inequality1 and the number of electors  
in many cases is so insignificant1 as   
inevitably to give to the noble and the 
rich the means of appointing almost any 
representatives they think fit1 so that 
the house of commons may more justly be 
styled the nominees of the upper house1 
than the deputies of the nation4 ,and it
 is further said1 ,remedy this          

inequality as much as you please1 and   
reform the state of the representation  
to whatever degree1 still1 so long as   
the votes at elections are required to  
be given openly1 the reform will be     
unavailing1 and the essential part of   
the mischief will remain4 ,the right of 
giving our votes in secrecy1 is the only
 remedy that can cut off the ascendancy 
of the more opulent members of the      
community over the rest1 and give us the
 substance of liberty1 instead of       
cheating us with the shadow4  ,on the   
other side ,i would beg the reader to   
consider1 that the vote by ballot1 in   
its obvious construction1 is not the    
symbol of liberty1 but of slavery4 ,what
 is it1 that presents to every eye the  
image of liberty1 and compels every     
heart to confess1 ,this is the temple   
where she resides8 ,an open front1 a    
steady and assured look1 an habitual and
 uninterrupted commerce between the     
heart and the tongue4 ,the free man     
communicates with his neighbour1 not in 

corners and concealed places1 but in    
market-places and scenes of public      
resort2 and it is thus that the sacred  
spark is caught from man to man1 till   
all are inspired with a common flame4   
,communication and publicity are of the 
essence of liberty2 it is the air they  
breathe2 and without it they die4  ,if  
on the contrary ,i would characterise a 
despotism1 ,i should say1 ,it implied a 
certain circumference of soil1 through  
whose divisions and districts every man 
suspected his neighbour1 where every man
 was haunted with the terror that walls 
have ears1 and only whispered his       
discontent1 his hopes and his fears1 to 
the trees of the forest and the silent  
streams4 ,if the dwellers on this soil  
consulted together1 it would be in      
secret cabals and with closed doors2    
engaging in the sacred cause of public  
welfare and happiness1 as if it were a  
thing of guilt1 which the conspirator   
scarcely ventured to confess to his own 
heart4  ,a shrewd person of my          

acquaintance the other day1 to whom ,i  
unadvisedly proposed a question as to   
what he thought of some public          
transaction1 instantly replied with     
symptoms of alarm1 ,i beg to say that ,i
 never disclose my opinions upon matters
 either of religion or politics to any  
one4 ,what did this answer imply as to  
the political government of the country 
where it was given8  ,is it             
characteristic of a free state or a     
tyranny8  ,one of the first and highest 
duties that falls to the lot of a human 
creature1 is that which he owes to the  
aggregate of reasonable beings          
inhabiting what he calls his country4   
,our duties are then most solemn and    
elevating1 when they are calculated to  
affect the well being of the greatest   
number of men2 and of consequence what a
 patriot owes to his native soil is the 
noblest theatre for his moral faculties4
 ,and shall we teach men to discharge   
this debt in the dark8 ,surely every man
 ought to be able to render a reason of 

the hope that is in him1 and give a     
modest1 but an assured1 account of his  
political conduct4 ,when he approaches  
the hustings at the period of a public  
election1 this is his altar1 where he   
sacrifices in the face of men to that   
deity1 which is most worth his adoration
 of all the powers whose single province
 is our sublunary state4  ,but the      
principle of the institution of ballot  
is to teach men to perform their best   
actions under the cloke of concealment4 
,when ,i return from giving my vote in  
the choice of a legislative             
representative1 ,i ought1 if my mode of 
proceeding were regulated by the        
undebauched feelings of our nature1 to  
feel somewhat proud that ,i had         
discharged this duty1 uninfluenced1     
uncorrupted1 in the sincere frame of a  
conscientious spirit4 ,but the          
institution of ballot instigates me     
carefully to conceal what ,i have done4 
,if ,i am questioned respecting it1 the 
proper reply which is as it were put    

into my mouth is1 ,you have no right to 
ask me2 and ,i shall not tell4 ,but1 as 
every man does not recollect the proper 
reply at the moment it is wanted1 and   
most men feel abashed1 when a direct    
question is put to them to which they   
know they are not to return a direct    
answer1 many will stammer and feel      
confused1 will perhaps insinuate a      
falshood1 while at the same time their  
manner to a discerning eye will1 in     
spite of all their precautions1 disclose
 the very truth4  ,the institution of   
ballot not only teaches us that our best
 actions are those which we ought most  
steadily to disavow1 but carries        
distrust and suspicion into all our most
 familiar relations4 ,the man ,i want to
 deceive1 and throw out in the keenness 
of his hunting1 is my landlord4 ,but how
 shall ,i most effectually conceal the  
truth from him8 ,may ,i be allowed to   
tell it to my wife or my child8 ,i had  
better not4 ,it is a known maxim of     
worldly prudence1 that the truth which  

may be a source of serious injury to me1
 is safest1 when it is shut up in my own
 bosom4 ,if ,i once let it out1 there is
 no saying where the communication may  
stop4 ,day unto day uttereth speech2 and
 night unto night sheweth forth         
knowledge4  ,and is this the proud      
attitude of liberty1 to which we are so 
eager to aspire8 ,after all1 there will 
be some ingenuous men in the community1 
who will not know how for ever to       
suppress what is dearest to their       
hearts4 ,but at any rate this           
institution holds out a prize to him    
that shall be most secret and           
untraceable in his proceedings1 that    
shall shoe his horses with felt1 and    
proceed in all his courses with silence 
and suspicion4  ,the first principle of 
morality to social man is1 that we act  
under the eye of our fellows4 ,the truly
 virtuous man would do as he ought1     
though no eye observed him4 ,persons1 it
 is true1 who deport themselves merely  
as men-pleasers1 for ever considering   

how the by-standers will pronounce of   
their conduct1 are entitled to small    
commendation4 ,the good man1 it is      
certain1 will see       ,to do what     
virtue would1 though sun and moon       
,were in the flat sea sunk4  ,but1      
imperfect creatures as we mortals       
usually are1 these things act and react 
upon each other4 ,a man of honourable   
intentions will demean himself justly1  
from the love of right4 ,but he is      
confirmed in his just dealing by the    
approbation of his fellows2 and1 if he  
were tempted to step awry1 he would be  
checked by the anticipation of their    
censure4 ,such is the nature of our     
moral education4 ,it is with virtue1 as 
it is with literary fame4 ,if ,i write  
well1 ,i can scarcely feel secure that  
,i do so1 till ,i obtain the suffrage of
 some competent judges1 confirming the  
verdict which ,i was before tempted to  
pronounce in my own favour4  ,this      
acting as in a theatre1 where men and   
,gods are judges of my conduct1 is the  

true destination of man2 and we cannot  
violate the universal law under which we
 were born1 without having reason to    
fear the most injurious effects4  ,and  
is this mysterious and concealed way of 
proceeding one of the forms through     
which we are to pass in the school of   
liberty8 ,the great end of all liberal  
institutions is1 to make a man fearless1
 frank as the day1 acting from a lively 
and earnest impulse1 which will not be  
restrained1 disdains all half-measures1 
and prompts us1 as it were1 to carry our
 hearts in our hands1 for all men to    
challenge1 and all men to comment on4   
,it is true1 that the devisers of       
liberal institutions will have foremost 
in their thoughts1 how men shall be     
secure in their personal liberty1       
unrestrained in the execution of what   
their thoughts prompt them to do1 and   
uncontrolled in the administration of   
the fruits of their industry4 ,but the  
moral end of all is1 that a man shall be
 worthy of the name1 erect1 independent 

of mind1 spontaneous of decision1       
intrepid1 overflowing with all good     
feelings1 and open in the expression of 
the sentiments they inspire4 ,if man is 
double in his weightiest purposes1 full 
of ambiguity and concealment1 and not   
daring to give words to the impulses of 
his soul1 what matters it that he is    
free8 ,we may pronounce of this man1    
that he is unworthy of the blessing that
 has fallen to his lot1 and will never  
produce the fruits that should be       
engendered in the lap of liberty4       
,there is however1 it should seem1 a    
short answer to all this4 ,it is in vain
 to expatiate to us upon the mischiefs  
of lying1 hypocrisy and concealment1    
since it is only through them1 as the   
way by which we are to march1 that      
nations can be made free4  ,this        
certainly is a fearful judgment awarded 
upon our species3 but is it true8  ,we  
are to begin1 it seems1 with concealing 
from our landlord1 or our opulent       
neighbour1 our political determinations2

 and so his corrupt influence will be   
broken1 and the humblest individual will
 be safe in doing that which his honest 
and unbiased feelings may prompt him to 
do4  ,no3 this is not the way in which  
the enemy of the souls of men is to be  
defeated4 ,we must not begin with the   
confession of our faint-heartedness and 
our cowardice4 ,a quiet1 sober1         
unaltered frame of judgment1 that       
insults no one1 that has in it nothing  
violent1 brutal and defying1 is the     
frame that becomes us4 ,if ,i would     
teach another man1 my superior in rank1 
how he ought to construe and decide upon
 the conduct ,i hold1 ,i must begin by  
making that conduct explicit4  ,it is   
not in morals1 as it is in war4 ,there  
stratagem is allowable1 and to take the 
enemy by surprise4 ,who enquires of an  
enemy1 whether it is by fraud or heroic 
enterprise that he has gained the day8  
,but it is not so that the cause of     
liberty is to be vindicated in the civil
 career of life4  ,the question is of   

reducing the higher ranks of society to 
admit the just immunities of their      
inferiors4 ,i will not allow that they  
shall be cheated into it4 ,no3 no man   
was ever yet recovered to his senses in 
a question of morals1 but by plain1     
honest1 soul-commanding speech4 ,truth  
is omnipotent1 if we do not violate its 
majesty by surrendering its outworks1   
and giving up that vantage-ground1 of   
which if we deprive it1 it ceases to be 
truth4 ,it finds a responsive chord in  
every human bosom4 ,whoever hears its   
voice1 at the same time recognises its  
power4 ,however corrupt he may be1      
however steeped in the habits of vice1  
and hardened in the practices of        
tyranny1 if it be mildly1 distinctly1   
emphatically enunciated1 the colour will
 forsake his cheek1 his speech will     
alter and be broken1 and he will feel   
himself unable to turn it off lightly1  
as a thing of no impression and         
validity4 ,in this way the erroneous    
man1 the man nursed in the house of     

luxury1 a stranger to the genuine1      
unvarnished state of things1 stands a   
fair chance of being corrected4  ,but1  
if an opposite1 and a truer way of      
thinking than that to which he is       
accustomed1 is only brought to his      
observation by the reserve of him who   
entertains it1 and who1 while he        
entertains it1 is reluctant to hold     
communion with his wealthier neighbour1 
who regards him as his adversary1 and   
hardly admits him to be of the same     
common nature1 there will be no general 
improvement4 ,under this discipline the 
two ranks of society will be perpetually
 more estranged1 view each other with   
eye askance1 and will be as two separate
 and hostile states1 though inhabiting  
the same territory4 ,is this the picture
 we desire to see of genuine liberty1   
philanthropic1 desirous of good to all1 
and overflowing with all generous       
emotions8       ,i hate where vice can  
bolt her arguments1      ,and virtue has
 no tongue to check her pride4  ,the man

 who interests himself for his country  
and its cause1 who acts bravely and     
independently1 and knows that he runs   
some risk in doing so1 must have a      
strange opinion of the sacredness of    
truth1 if the very consciousness of     
having done nobly does not supply him   
with courage1 and give him that simple1 
unostentatious firmness1 which shall    
carry immediate conviction to the heart4
 ,it is a bitter lesson that the        
institution of ballot teaches1 while it 
says1 ,you have done well2 therefore be 
silent2 whisper it not to the winds2    
disclose it not to those who are most   
nearly allied to you2 adopt the same    
conduct which would suggest itself to   
you1 if you had perpetrated an atrocious
 crime4  ,in no long time after the     
commencement of the war of the allies   
against ,france1 certain acts were      
introduced into the ,english parliament1
 declaring it penal by word or writing  
to utter any thing that should tend to  
bring the government into contempt2 and 

these acts1 by the mass of the          
adversaries of despotic power1 were in  
way of contempt called the ,gagging     
,acts4 ,little did ,i and my            
contemporaries of #agie imagine1 when we
 protested against these acts in the    
triumphant reign of ,william ,pitt1 that
 the soi-disant friends of liberty and  
radical reformers1 when their turn of   
triumph came1 would propose their       
,gagging ,acts1 recommending to the     
people to vote agreeably to their       
consciences1 but forbidding them to give
 publicity to the honourable conduct    
they had been prevailed on to adopt6    
,but all this reasoning is founded in an
 erroneous1 and groundlessly degrading1 
opinion of human nature4 ,the           
improvement of the general institutions 
of society1 the correction of the gross 
inequalities of our representation1 will
 operate towards the improvement of all 
the members of the community4 ,while    
ninety-nine in an hundred of the        
inhabitants of ,england are carried     

forward in the scale of intellect and   
virtue1 it would be absurd to suppose   
that the hundredth man will stand still1
 merely because he is rich4 ,patriotism 
is a liberal and a social impulse2 its  
influence is irresistible2 it is        
contagious1 and is propagated by the    
touch2 it is infectious1 and mixes      
itself with the air that we breathe4    
,men are governed in their conduct in a 
surprising degree by the opinion of     
others4 ,it was all very well1 when     
noblemen were each of them satisfied of 
the equity and irresistible principle of
 their ascendancy1 when the vulgar      
population felt convinced that passive  
obedience was entailed on them from     
their birth1 when we were in a manner   
but just emancipated 7illusorily        
emancipated67 from the state of serfs   
and villains4 ,but a memorable          
melioration of the state of man will    
carry some degree of conviction to the  
hearts of all4 ,the most corrupt will be
 made doubtful3 many who had not gone so

 far in ill1 will desert the banners of 
oppression4  ,we see this already4 ,what
 a shock was propagated through the     
island1 when1 the other day1 a large    
proprietor1 turning a considerable      
cluster of his tenants out of the houses
 and lands they occupied1 because they  
refused to vote for a representative in 
parliament implicitly as he bade them1  
urged in his own justification1 ,shall  
,i not do what ,i will with my own8     
,this was all sound morals and divinity 
perhaps at the period of his birth4     
,nobody disputed it2 or1 if any one did1
 he was set down by the oracles of the  
vicinage as a crackbrained visionary4   
,this man1 so confident in his own      
prerogatives1 had slept for the last    
twenty years1 and awoke totally         
unconscious of what had been going on in
 almost every corner of ,europe in the  
interval4 ,a few more such examples2 and
 so broad and sweeping an assumption    
will no more be heard of1 and it will   
remain in the records of history1 as a  

thing for the reality of which we have  
sufficient evidence1 but which common   
sense repudiates1 and which seems to    
demand from us a certain degree of      
credulity to induce us to admit that it 
had ever been4  ,the manners of society 
are by no means so unchanged and        
unalterable as many men suppose4 ,it is 
here1 as in the case of excessive       
drinking1 which ,i had lately occasion  
to mention7#cf74 ,in rude and barbarous 
times men of the highest circles piqued 
themselves upon their power of          
swallowing excessive potations1 and     
found pleasure in it4 ,it is in this as 
in so many other vices1 we follow       
implicitly where our elders lead the    
way4 ,but the rage of drinking is now   
gone by2 and you will with difficulty   
find a company of persons of respectable
 appearance1 who assemble round a table 
for the purpose of making beasts of     
themselves4 ,formerly it was their      
glory2 now1 if any man unhappily retains
 the weakness1 he hides it from his     

equals1 as he would a loathsome disease4
 ,the same thing will happen as to      
parliamentary corruption1 and the       
absolute authority that was exercised by
 landlords over the consciences of their
 tenants4 ,he that shall attempt to put 
into act what is then universally       
condemned1 will be a marked man1 and    
will be generally shunned by his        
fellows4 ,the eye of the world will be  
upon him1 as the murderer fancies       
himself followed by the eye of          
omnipotence2 and he will obey the       
general voice of the community1 that he 
may be at peace with himself4      7#cf7
 ,see above1 ,essay #i4   ,let us not   
then disgrace a period of memorable     
improvement1 by combining it with an    
institution that should mark that we1   
the great body of the people1 regard the
 more opulent members of the community  
as our foes4 ,let us hold out to them   
the right hand of fellowship2 and they  
will meet us4 ,they will be influenced1 
partly by ingenuous shame for the       

unworthy conduct which they and their   
fathers had so long pursued1 and partly 
by sympathy for the genuine joy and     
expansion of heart that is spreading    
itself through the land4 ,scarcely any  
one can restrain himself from           
participating in the happiness of the   
great body of his countrymen2 and1 if   
they see that we treat them with        
generous confidence1 and are unwilling  
to recur to the memory of former        
grievances1 and that a spirit of        
philanthropy and unlimited good-will is 
the sentiment of the day1 it can        
scarcely happen but that their          
conversion will be complete1 and the    
harmony be made entire7#cg74      7#cg7 
,the subject of this ,essay is resumed  
in the close of the following4          
,,essay ,,xviii4 ,,of ,,diffidence4     
,the following ,essay will be to a      
considerable degree in the nature of    
confession1 like the ,confessions of    
,st4 ,augustine or of ,jean ,jacques    
,rousseau4 ,it may therefore at first   

sight appear of small intrinsic value1  
and scarcely worthy of a place in the   
present series4 ,but1 as ,i have had    
occasion more than once to remark1 we   
are all of us framed in a great measure 
on the same model1 and the analysis of  
the individual may often stand for the  
analysis of a species4 ,while ,i        
describe myself therefore1 ,i shall     
probably at the same time be describing 
no inconsiderable number of my          
fellow-beings4  ,it is true1 that the   
duty of man under the head of           
,frankness1 is of a very comprehensive  
nature4 ,we ought all of us to tell to  
our neighbour whatever it may be of     
advantage to him to know1 we ought to be
 the sincere and zealous advocates of   
absent merit and worth1 and we are bound
 by every means in our power to         
contribute to the improvement of others1
 and to the diffusion of salutary truths
 through the world4  ,from the          
universality of these precepts many     
readers might be apt to infer1 that ,i  

am in my own person the bold and        
unsparing preacher of truth1 resolutely 
giving to every man his due1 and1       
agreeably to the apostle's direction1   
instant in season1 and out of season4   
,the individual who answers to this     
description will often be deemed        
troublesome1 often annoying2 he will    
produce a considerable sensation in the 
circle of those who know him2 and it    
will depend upon various collateral     
circumstances1 whether he shall         
ultimately be judged a rash and         
intemperate disturber of the            
contemplations of his neighbours1 or a  
disinterested and heroic suggester of   
new veins of thinking1 by which his     
contemporaries and their posterity shall
 be essentially the gainers4  ,i have no
 desire to pass myself upon those who   
may have any curiosity respecting me for
 better than ,i am2 and ,i will         
therefore here put down a few           
particulars1 which may tend to enable   
them to form an equitable judgment4     

,one of the earliest passions of my mind
 was the love of truth and sound        
opinion4 ,why should ,i1 such was the   
language of my solitary meditations1    
because ,i was born in a certain degree 
of latitude1 in a certain century1 in a 
country where certain institutions      
prevail1 and of parents professing a    
certain faith1 take it for granted that 
all this is right8--,this is matter of  
accident4 ',time and chance happeneth to
 all3' and ,i1 the thinking principle   
within me1 might1 if such had been the  
order of events1 have been born under   
circumstances the very reverse of those 
under which ,i was born4 ,i will not1 if
 ,i can help it1 be the creature of     
accident2 ,i will not1 like a           
shuttle-cock1 be at the disposal of     
every impulse that is given me4 ,i felt 
a certain disdain for the being thus    
directed2 ,i could not endure the idea  
of being made a fool of1 and of taking  
every ignis fatuus for a guide1 and     
every stray notion1 the meteor of the   

day1 for everlasting truth4 ,i am the   
person1 spoken of in a preceding        
,essay7#ch71 who early said to ,truth1  
,go on3 whithersoever thou leadest1 ,i  
am prepared to follow4      7#ch7 ,see  
above1 ,essay ,,xiii4   ,during my      
college-life therefore1 ,i read all     
sorts of books1 on every side of any    
important question1 that were thrown in 
my way1 or that ,i could hear of4 ,but  
the very passion that determined me to  
this mode of proceeding1 made me wary   
and circumspect in coming to a          
conclusion4 ,i knew that it would1 if   
any thing1 be a more censurable and     
contemptible act1 to yield to every     
seducing novelty1 than to adhere        
obstinately to a prejudice because it   
had been instilled into me in youth4 ,i 
was therefore slow of conviction1 and by
 no means given to change4 ,i never     
willingly parted with a suggestion that 
was unexpectedly furnished to me2 but ,i
 examined it again and again1 before ,i 
consented that it should enter into the 

set of my principles4  ,in proportion   
however as ,i became acquainted with    
truth1 or what appeared to me to be     
truth1 ,i was like what ,i have read of 
,melancthon1 who1 when he was first     
converted to the tenets of ,luther1     
became eager to go into all companies1  
that he might make them partakers of the
 same inestimable treasures1 and set    
before them evidence that was to him    
irresistible4 ,it is needless to say1   
that he often encountered the most      
mortifying disappointment4  ,young and  
eager as ,i was in my mission1 ,i       
received in this way many a bitter      
lesson4 ,but the peculiarity of my      
temper rendered this doubly impressive  
to me4 ,i could not pass over a hint1   
let it come from what quarter it would1 
without taking it into some             
consideration1 and endeavouring to      
ascertain the precise weight that was to
 be attributed to it4 ,it would however 
often happen1 particularly in the       
question of the claims of a given       

individual to honour and respect1 that  
,i could see nothing but the most       
glaring injustice in the opposition ,i  
experienced4 ,in canvassing the         
character of an individual1 it is not   
for the most part general1 abstract or  
moral1 principles that are called into  
question3 ,i am left in possession of   
the premises which taught me to admire  
the man whose character is contested2   
and conformably to those premises ,i see
 that his claim to the honour ,i have   
paid him is fully made out4  ,in my     
communications with others1 in the      
endeavour to impart what ,i deemed to be
 truth1 ,i began with boldness3 but ,i  
often found that the evidence that was  
to me irresistible1 was made small      
account of by others2 and it not seldom 
happened1 as candour was my principle1  
and a determination to receive what     
could be strewn to be truth1 let it come
 from what quarter it would1 that       
suggestions were presented to me1       
materially calculated to stagger the    

confidence with which ,i had set out4   
,if ,i had been divinely inspired1 if ,i
 had been secured by an omniscient      
spirit against the danger of error1 my  
case would have been different4 ,but ,i 
was not inspired4 ,i often encountered  
an opposition ,i had not anticipated1   
and was often presented with objections1
 or had pointed out to me flaws and     
deficiencies in my reasonings1 which1   
till they were so pointed out1 ,i had   
not apprehended4 ,i had not lungs       
enabling me to drown all contradiction2 
and1 which was still more material1 ,i  
had not a frame of mind1 which should   
determine me to regard whatever could be
 urged against me as of no value4 ,i    
therefore became cautious4 ,as a human  
creature1 ,i did not relish the being   
held up to others' or to myself1 as     
rash1 inconsiderate and headlong1       
unaware of difficulties the most        
obvious1 embracing propositions the most
 untenable1 and against hope believing  
in hope4 ,and1 as an apostle of truth1  

,i distinctly perceived that a          
reputation for perspicacity and sound   
judgment was essential to my mission4 ,i
 therefore often became less a speaker1 
than a listener1 and by no means made it
 a law with myself to defend principles 
and characters ,i honoured1 on every    
occasion on which ,i might hear them    
attacked4  ,a new epoch occurred in my  
character1 when ,i published1 and at the
 time ,i was writing1 my ,enquiry       
concerning ,political ,justice4 ,my mind
 was wrought up to a certain elevation  
of tone2 the speculations in which ,i   
was engaged1 tending to embrace all that
 was most important to man in society1  
and the frame to which ,i had           
assiduously bent myself1 of giving      
quarter to nothing because it was old1  
and shrinking from nothing because it   
was startling and astounding1 gave a new
 bias to my character4 ,the habit which 
,i thus formed put me more on the alert 
even in the scenes of ordinary life1 and
 gave me a boldness and an eloquence    

more than was natural to me4 ,i then    
reverted to the principle which ,i      
stated in the beginning1 of being ready 
to tell my neighbour whatever it might  
be of advantage to him to know1 to shew 
myself the sincere and zealous advocate 
of absent merit and worth1 and to       
contribute by every means in my power to
 the improvement of others and to the   
diffusion of salutary truth through the 
world4 ,i desired that every hour that  
,i lived should be turned to the best   
account1 and was bent each day to       
examine whether ,i had conformed myself 
to this rule4 ,i held on this course    
with tolerable constancy for five or six
 years3 and1 even when that constancy   
abated1 it failed not to leave a        
beneficial effect on my subsequent      
conduct4  ,but1 in pursuing this scheme 
of practice1 ,i was acting a part       
somewhat foreign to my constitution4 ,i 
was by nature more of a speculative than
 an active character1 more inclined to  
reason within myself upon what ,i heard 

and saw1 than to declaim concerning it4 
,i loved to sit by unobserved1 and to   
meditate upon the panorama before me4   
,at first ,i associated chiefly with    
those who were more or less admirers of 
my work2 and1 as ,i had risen 7to speak 
in the slang phrase7 like a star upon my
 contemporaries without being expected1 
,i was treated generally with a certain 
degree of deference1 or1 where not with 
deference and submission1 yet as a      
person whose opinions and view of things
 were to be taken into the account4 ,the
 individuals who most strenuously       
opposed me1 acted with a consciousness  
that1 if they affected to despise me1   
they must not expect that all the       
bystanders would participate in that    
feeling4  ,but this was to a            
considerable degree the effect of       
novelty4 ,my lungs1 as ,i have already  
said1 were not of iron2 my manner was   
not overbearing and despotic2 there was 
nothing in it to deter him who differed 
from me from entering the field in turn1

 and telling the tale of his views and  
judgments in contradiction to mine4 ,i  
descended into the arena1 and stood on a
 level with the rest4 ,beyond this1 it  
occasionally happened that1 if ,i had   
not the stentorian lungs1 and the petty 
artifices of rhetoric and conciliation1 
that should carry a cause independently 
of its merits1 my antagonists were not  
deficient in these respects4 ,i had     
nothing in my favour to balance this1   
but a sort of constitutional equanimity 
and imperturbableness of temper1 which1 
if ,i was at any time silenced1 made me 
not look like a captive to be dragged at
 the chariot-wheels of my adversary4    
,all this however had a tendency to     
subtract from my vocation as a          
missionary4 ,i was no longer a          
knight-errant1 prepared on all occasions
 by dint of arms to vindicate the cause 
of every principle that was unjustly    
handled1 and every character that was   
wrongfully assailed4 ,meanwhile ,i      
returned to the field1 occasionally and 

uncertainly4 ,it required some          
provocation and incitement to call me   
out3 but there was the lion1 or whatever
 combative animal may more justly       
prefigure me1 sleeping1 and that might  
be awakened4  ,there is another feature 
necessary to be mentioned1 in order to  
make this a faithful representation4    
,there are persons1 it should seem1 of  
whom it may be predicated1 that they are
 semper parati4 ,this has by no means   
been my case4 ,my genius often deserted 
me4 ,i was far from having the thought1 
the argument1 or the illustration at all
 times ready1 when it was required4 ,i  
resembled to a certain degree the       
persons we read of1 who are said to be  
struck as if with a divine judgment4 ,i 
was for a moment changed into one of the
 mere herd1 de grege porcus4 ,my powers 
therefore were precarious1 and ,i could 
not always be the intrepid and qualified
 advocate of truth1 if ,i vehemently    
desired it4 ,i have often1 a few minutes
 afterwards1 or on my return to my      

chambers1 recollected the train of      
thinking1 which world have strewn me off
 to advantage1 and memorably done me    
honour1 if ,i could have had it at my   
command the moment it was wanted4  ,and 
so much for confession4 ,i am by no     
means vindicating myself4  ,i honour    
much more the man who is at all times   
ready to tell his neighbour whatever it 
may be of advantage to him to know1 to  
shew himself the sincere and            
untemporising advocate of absent merit  
and worth1 and to contribute by every   
means in his power to the improvement of
 others1 and to the diffusion of        
salutary truths through the world4      
,this is what every man ought to be1 and
 what the best devised scheme of        
republican institutions would have a    
tendency to make us all4  ,but1 though  
the man here described is to a certain  
degree a deserter of his true place in  
society1 and cannot be admitted to have 
played his part in all things well1 we  
are by no means to pronounce upon him a 

more unfavourable judgment than he      
merits4 ,diffidence1 though1 where it   
disqualifies us in any way from doing   
justice to truth1 either as it respects 
general principle or individual         
character1 a defect1 yet is on no       
account to be confounded in demerit with
 that suppression of truth1 or          
misrepresentation1 which grows out of   
actual craft and design4  ,the diffident
 man1 in some cases seldomer1 and in    
some oftener and in a more glaring      
manner1 deserts the cause of truth1 and 
by that means is the cause of           
misrepresentation1 and indirectly the   
propagator of falshood4 ,but he is      
constant and sincere as far as he goes2 
he never lends his voice to falshood1 or
 intentionally to sophistry2 he never   
for an instant goes over to the enemy's 
standard1 or disgraces his honest front 
by strewing it in the ranks of tyranny  
or imposture4 ,he may undoubtedly be    
accused1 to a certain degree1 of        
dissimulation1 or throwing into shade   

the thing that is1 but never of         
simulation1 or the pretending the thing 
to be that is not4 ,he is plain and     
uniform in every thing that he          
professes1 or to which he gives         
utterance2 but1 from timidity or        
irresolution1 he keeps back in part the 
offering which he owes at the shrine    
where it is most honourable and glorious
 for man to worship4  ,and this brings  
me back again to the subject of the     
immediately preceding ,essay1 the       
propriety of voting by ballot4  ,the    
very essence of this scheme is silence4 
,and this silence is not merely like    
that which is prompted by a diffident   
temper1 which by fits is practiced by   
the modest and irresolute man1 and by   
fits disappears before the sun of truth 
and through the energies of a temporary 
fortitude4 ,it is uniform4 ,it is not   
brought into act only1 when the         
individual unhappily does not find in   
himself the firmness to play the        
adventurer4 ,it becomes matter of       

system1 and is felt as being recommended
 to us for a duty4  ,nor does the evil  
stop there4 ,in the course of my        
ordinary communications with my         
fellow-men1 ,i speak when ,i please1 and
 ,i am silent when ,i please1 and there 
is nothing specially to be remarked     
either way4 ,if ,i speak1 ,i am perhaps 
listened to2 and1 if ,i am silent1 it is
 likely enough concluded that it is     
because ,i have nothing of importance to
 say4 ,but in the question of ballot the
 case is far otherwise4 ,there it is    
known that the voter has his secret4    
,when ,i am silent upon a matter        
occurring in the usual intercourses of  
life where ,i might speak1 nay1 where we
 will suppose ,i ought to speak1 ,i am  
at least guilty of dissimulation only4  
,but the voter by ballot is strongly    
impelled to the practice of the more    
enormous sin of simulation4 ,it is      
known1 as ,i have said1 that he has his 
secret4 ,and he will often be driven to 
have recourse to various stratagems1    

that he may elude the enquirer1 or that 
he may set at fault the sagacity of the 
silent observer4 ,he has something that 
he might tell if he would1 and he       
distorts himself in a thousand ways1    
that he may not betray the hoard which  
he is known to have in his custody4 ,the
 institution of ballot is the fruitful  
parent of ambiguities1 equivocations and
 lies without number4     ,,essay ,,xix4
 ,,of ,,self-,,complacency4  ,the       
subject of this ,essay is intimately    
connected with those of ,essays ,,xi and
 ,,xii1 perhaps the most important of   
the series4  ,it has been established in
 the latter1 that human creatures are   
constantly accompanied in their         
voluntary actions with the delusive     
sense of liberty1 and that our          
character1 our energies1 and our        
conscience of moral right and wrong1 are
 mainly dependent upon this feature in  
our constitution4  ,the subject of my   
present disquisition relates to the     
feeling of self-approbation or          

self-complacency1 which will be found   
inseparable from the most honourable    
efforts and exertions in which mortal   
men can be engaged4  ,one of the most   
striking of the precepts contained in   
what are called the ,golden ,verses of  
,pythagoras1 is couched in the words1   
,reverence thyself4  ,the duties which  
are incumbent on man are of two sorts1  
negative and positive4 ,we are bound to 
set right our mistakes1 and to correct  
the evil habits to which we are prone2  
and we are bound also to be generously  
ambitious1 to aspire after excellence1  
and to undertake such things as may     
reflect honour on ourselves1 and be     
useful to others4  ,to the practice of  
the former of these classes of duties we
 may be instigated by prohibitions1     
menaces and fear1 the fear of mischiefs 
that may fall upon us conformably to the
 known series of antecedents and        
consequents in the course of nature1 or 
of mischiefs that may be inflicted on us
 by the laws of the country in which we 

live1 or as results of the ill will and 
disapprobation felt towards us by       
individuals4 ,there is nothing that is  
necessarily generous or invigorating in 
the practice of our negative duties4    
,they amount merely to a scheme for     
keeping us within bounds1 and           
restraining us from those sallies and   
escapes1 which human nature1            
undisciplined and left to itself1 might 
betray us into4 ,but positive           
enterprise1 and great actual improvement
 cannot be expected by us in this way4  
,all this is what the apostle refers to1
 when he speaks of the law as a         
schoolmaster to bring us to liberty1    
after which he advises us not to be     
again entangled with the yoke of        
bondage4  ,on the other hand1 if we     
would enter ourselves in the race of    
positive improvement1 if we would become
 familiar with generous sentiments1 and 
the train of conduct which such         
sentiments inspire1 we must provide     
ourselves with the soil in which such   

things grow1 and engage in the species  
of husbandry by which they are matured2 
in other words1 we must be no strangers 
to self-esteem and self-complacency4    
,the truth of this statement may perhaps
 be most strikingly illustrated1 if we  
take for our example the progress of    
schoolboys under a preceptor4 ,a        
considerable proportion of these are    
apt1 diligent1 and desirous to perform  
the tasks in which they are engaged1 so 
as to satisfy the demands of their      
masters and parents1 and to advance     
honourably in the path that is          
recommended to them4 ,and a considerable
 proportion put themselves on the       
defensive1 and propose to their own     
minds to perform exactly as much as     
shall exempt them from censure and      
punishment1 and no more4  ,now ,i say of
 the former1 that they cannot accomplish
 the purpose they have conceived1 unless
 so far as they are aided by a sentiment
 of self-reverence4  ,the difference of 
the two parties is1 that the latter     

proceed1 so far as their studies are    
concerned1 as feeling themselves under  
the law of necessity1 and as if they    
were machines merely1 and the former as 
if they were under what the apostle     
calls the law of liberty4  ,we cannot   
perform our tasks to the best of our    
power1 unless we think well of our own  
capacity4  ,but this is the smallest    
part of what is necessary4 ,we must also
 be in good humour with ourselves4 ,we  
must say1 ,i can do that which ,i shall 
have just occasion to look back upon    
with satisfaction4 ,it is the           
anticipation of this result1 that       
stimulates our efforts1 and carries us  
forward4 ,perseverance is an active     
principle1 and cannot continue to       
operate but under the influence of      
desire4 ,it is incompatible with languor
 and neutrality4 ,it implies the love of
 glory1 perhaps of that glory which     
shall be attributed to us by others1 or 
perhaps only of that glory which shall  
be reaped by us in the silent chambers  

of the mind4 ,the diligent scholar is he
 that loves himself1 and desires to have
 reason to applaud and love himself4 ,he
 sits down to his task with resolution1 
he approves of what he does in each step
 of the process1 and in each enquires1  
,is this the thing ,i purposed to       
effect8  ,and1 as it is with the        
unfledged schoolboy1 after the same     
manner it is with the man mature4 ,he   
must have to a certain extent a good    
opinion of himself1 he must feel a kind 
of internal harmony1 giving to the      
circulations of his frame animation and 
cheerfulness1 or he can never undertake 
and execute considerable things4  ,the  
execution of any thing considerable     
implies in the first place previous     
persevering meditation4 ,he that        
undertakes any great achievement will1  
according to the vulgar phrase1 think   
twice1 before he buckles up his         
resolution1 and plunges into the ocean1 
which he has already surveyed with      
anxious glance while he remained on     

shore4 ,let our illustration be the case
 of ,columbus1 who1 from the figure of  
the earth1 inferred that there must be a
 way of arriving at the ,indies by a    
voyage directly west1 in distinction    
from the very complicated way hitherto  
practiced1 by sailing up the            
,mediterranean1 crossing the isthmus of 
,suez1 and so falling down the ,red ,sea
 into the ,indian ,ocean4 ,he weighed   
all the circumstances attendant on such 
an undertaking in his mind4 ,he enquired
 into his own powers and resources1     
imaged to himself the various obstacles 
that might thwart his undertaking1 and  
finally resolved to engage in it4 ,if   
,columbus had not entertained a very    
good opinion of himself1 it is          
impossible that he should have announced
 such a project1 or should have achieved
 it4  ,again4 ,let our illustration be1 
of ,homer undertaking to compose the    
,iliad4 ,if he had not believed himself 
to be a man of very superior powers to  
the majority of the persons around him1 

he would most assuredly never have      
attempted it4 ,what an enterprise6 ,to  
describe in twenty-four books1 and      
sixteen thousand verses1 the perpetual  
warfare and contention of two great     
nations1 all ,greece being armed for the
 attack1 and all the western division of
 ,asia ,minor for the defence3 the war  
carried on by two vast confederacies1   
under numerous chiefs1 all sovereign and
 essentially independent of each other4 
,to conceive the various characters of  
the different leaders1 and their mutual 
rivalship4 ,to engage all heaven1 such  
as it was then understood1 as well as   
what was most respectable on earth1 in  
the struggle4 ,to form the idea1 through
 twenty-four books1 of varying the      
incidents perpetually1 and keeping alive
 the attention of the reader or hearer  
without satiety or weariness4 ,for this 
purpose1 and to answer to his conception
 of a great poem1 ,homer appears to have
 thought it necessary that the action   
should be one2 and he therefore took the

 incidental quarrel of ,achilles and the
 commander in chief1 the resentment of  
,achilles1 and his consequent defection 
from the cause1 till1 by the death of   
,patroclus1 and then of ,hector1 all    
traces of the misunderstanding first1   
and then of its consequences1 should be 
fully obliterated4  ,there is further an
 essential difference between the       
undertaking of ,columbus and that of    
,homer4 ,once fairly engaged1 there was 
for ,columbus no drawing back4 ,being   
already at sea on the great ,atlantic   
,ocean1 he could not retrace his steps4 
,even when he had presented his project 
to the sovereigns of ,spain1 and they   
had accepted it1 and still more when the
 ships were engaged1 and the crews      
mustered1 he must go forward1 or submit 
to indelible disgrace4  ,it is not so in
 writing a poem4 ,the author of the     
latter may stop whenever he pleases4 ,of
 consequence1 during every day of its   
execution1 he requires a fresh stimulus4
 ,he must look back on the past1 and    

forward on what is to come1 and feel    
that he has considerable reason to be   
satisfied4 ,the great naval discoverer  
may have his intervals of misgiving and 
discouragement1 and may1 as ,pope       
expresses it1 wish that any one would   
hang him4 ,he goes forward2 for he has  
no longer the liberty to choose4 ,but   
the author of a mighty poem is not in   
the same manner entangled1 and therefore
 to a great degree returns to his work  
each day1 screwing his courage to the   
sticking-place4 ,he must feel the same  
fortitude and elasticity1 and be as     
entirely the same man of heroic energy1 
as when he first arrived at the         
resolution to engage4 ,how much then of 
self-complacency and self-confidence do 
his undertaking and performance imply6  
,i have taken two of the most memorable 
examples in the catalogue of human      
achievements3 the discovery of a ,new   
,world1 and the production of the       
,iliad4 ,but all those voluntary        
actions1 or rather series and chains of 

actions1 which comprise energy in the   
first determination1 and honour in the  
execution1 each in its degree rests upon
 self-complacency as the pillar upon    
which its weight is sustained1 and      
without which it must sink into nothing4
  ,self-complacency then being the      
indispensible condition of all that is  
honourable in human achievements1 hence 
we may derive a multitude of duties1 and
 those of the most delicate nature1     
incumbent on the preceptor1 as well as a
 peculiar discipline to be observed by  
the candidate1 both while he is under a 
schoolmaster1 and afterwards when he is 
emancipated1 and his plan of conduct is 
to be regulated by his own discretion4  
,the first duty of the preceptor is     
encouragement4  ,not that his face is to
 be for ever dressed in smiles1 and that
 his tone is to be at all times that of 
invitation and courtship4 ,the great    
theatre of the world is of a mingled    
constitution1 made up of advantages and 
sufferings2 and it is perhaps best that 

so should be the different scenes of the
 drama as they pass4 ,the young         
adventurer is not to expect to have     
every difficulty smoothed for him by the
 hand of another4 ,this were to teach   
him a lesson of effeminacy and          
cowardice4 ,on the contrary it is       
necessary that he should learn that     
human life is a state of hardship1 that 
the adversary we have to encounter does 
not always present himself with his     
fangs sheathed in the woolly softness   
which occasionally renders them         
harmless1 and that nothing great or     
eminently honourable was ever achieved  
but through the dint of resolution1     
energy and struggle4 ,it is good that   
the winds of heaven should blow upon    
him1 that he should encounter the       
tempest of the elements1 and            
occasionally sustain the inclemency of  
the summer's heat and winter's cold1    
both literally and metaphorically4  ,but
 the preceptor1 however he conducts     
himself in other respects1 ought never  

to allow his pupil to despise himself1  
or to hold himself as of no account4    
,self-contempt can never be a discipline
 favourable to energy or to virtue4 ,the
 pupil ought at all times to judge      
himself in some degree worthy1 worthy   
and competent now to attempt1 and       
hereafter to accomplish1 things         
deserving of commendation4 ,the         
preceptor must never degrade his pupil  
in his own eyes1 but on the contrary    
must teach him that nothing but         
resolution and perseverance are         
necessary1 to enable him to effect all  
that the judicious director can expect  
from him4 ,he should be encouraged      
through every step of his progress1 and 
specially encouraged when he has gained 
a certain point1 and arrived at an      
important resting-place4 ,it is thus we 
are taught the whole circle of what are 
called accomplishments1 dancing1 music1 
fencing1 and the rest2 and it is surely 
a strange anomaly1 if those things which
 are most essential in raising the mind 

to its true standard1 cannot be         
communicated with equal suavity and     
kindness1 be surrounded with            
allurements1 and regarded as sources of 
pleasure and genuine hilarity4  ,in the 
mean time it is to be admitted that     
every human creature1 especially in the 
season of youth1 and not being the      
victim of some depressing disease either
 of body or mind1 has in him a good     
obstinate sort of self-complacency1     
which cannot without much difficulty be 
eradicated4 ,though he falleth seven    
times1 yet will he rise again4 ,and1    
when we have encountered various        
mortifications1 and have been many times
 rebuked and inveighed against1 we      
nevertheless recover our own good       
opinion1 and are ready to enter into a  
fresh contention for the prize1 if not  
in one kind1 then in another4  ,it is in
 allusion to this feature in the human  
character1 that we have an expressive   
phrase in the ,english language1--to    
break the spirit4 ,the preceptor may    

occasionally perhaps prescribe to the   
pupil a severe task2 and the young      
adventurer may say1 ,can ,i be expected 
to accomplish this8 ,but all must be    
done in kindness4 ,the generous         
attempter must be reminded of the powers
 he has within him1 perhaps yet         
unexercised2 with cheering sounds his   
progress must be encouraged2 and1 above 
all1 the director of the course must    
take care not to tax him beyond his     
strength4 ,and1 be it observed1 that the
 strength of a human creature is to be  
ascertained by two things2 first1 the   
abstract capacity1 that the thing       
required is not beyond the power of a   
being so constituted to perform2 and1   
secondly1 we must take into the account 
his past achievements1 the things he has
 already accomplished1 and not expect   
that he is at once to overleap a        
thousand obstacles4  ,for there is such 
a thing as a broken spirit4 ,i remember 
a boy who was my schoolfellow1 that1    
having been treated with uncalled for   

severity1 never appeared afterwards in  
the scene of instruction1 but with a    
neglected appearance1 and the articles  
of his dress scarcely half put on4 ,i   
was very young at the time1 and viewed  
only the outside of things4 ,i cannot   
tell whether he had any true ambition   
previously to his disgrace1 but ,i am   
sure he never had afterwards4  ,how     
melancholy an object is the man1 who1   
for the privilege to breathe1 bears up  
and down the city       ,a discontented 
and repining spirit      ,burthensome to
 itself1  incapable of enterprise1      
listless1 with no courage to undertake1 
and no anticipation of the              
practicability of success and honour6   
,and this spectacle is still more       
affecting1 when the subject shall be a  
human creature in the dawn of youth1    
when nature opens to him a vista of     
beauty and fruition on every side1 and  
all is encouraging1 redolent of energy  
and enterprise6  ,to break the spirit of
 a man1 bears a considerable resemblance

 to the breaking the main spring1 or    
principal movement1 of a complicated and
 ingeniously constructed machine4 ,we   
cannot tell when it is to happen2 and it
 comes at last perhaps at the time that 
it is least expected4 ,a judicious      
superintendent therefore will be far    
from trying consequences in his office1 
and will1 like a man walking on a cliff 
whose extremes are ever and anon        
crumbling away and falling into the     
ocean1 keep much within the edge1 and at
 a safe distance from the line of       
danger4  ,but this consideration has led
 me much beyond the true subject of this
 ,essay4 ,the instructor of youth1 as ,i
 have already said1 is called upon to   
use all his skill1 to animate the       
courage1 and maintain the cheerfulness  
and self-complacency of his pupil4 ,and1
 as such is the discipline to be        
observed to the candidate1 while he is  
under a schoolmaster1 so1 when he is    
emancipated1 and his plan of conduct is 
to be regulated by his own discretion1  

it is necessary that he should carry    
forward the same scheme1 and cultivate  
that tone of feeling1 which should best 
reconcile him to himself1 and1 by       
teaching him to esteem himself and bear 
in mind his own value1 enable him to    
achieve things honourable to his        
character1 and memorably useful to      
others4 ,melancholy1 and a disposition  
anticipating evil are carefully to be   
guarded against1 by him who is desirous 
to perform his part well on the theatre 
of society4 ,he should habitually       
meditate all cheerful things1 and sing  
the song of battle which has a thousand 
times spurred on his predecessors to    
victory4 ,he should contemplate the     
crown that awaits him1 and say to       
himself1 ,i also will do my part1 and   
endeavour to enrol myself in the select 
number of those champions1 of whom it   
has been predicated that they were men1 
of whom1 compared with the herd of      
ordinary mortals1 the world1 the species
 among whom they were rated1 was not    

worthy4  ,another consideration is to be
 recollected here4 ,without             
self-complacency in the agent no        
generous enterprise is to be expected1  
and no train of voluntary actions1 such 
as may purchase honour to the person    
engaged in them4  ,but1 beside this1    
there is no true and substantial        
happiness but for the self-complacent4  
,the good man1 as ,solomon says1 is     
satisfied from himself4 ,the reflex act 
is inseparable from the constitution of 
the human mind4 ,how can any one have   
genuine happiness1 unless in proportion 
as he looks round1 and1 behold6 every   
thing is very good8 ,this is the        
sunshine of the soul1 the true joy1 that
 gives cheerfulness to all our          
circulations1 and makes us feel         
ourselves entire and complete4 ,what    
indeed is life1 unless so far as it is  
enjoyed8 ,it does not merit the name4   
,if ,i go into a school1 and look round 
on a number of young faces1 the scene is
 destitute of its true charm1 unless so 

far as ,i see inward peace and          
contentment on all sides4 ,and1 if we   
require this eminently in the young1    
neither can it be less essential1 when  
in growing manhood we have the real     
cares of the world to contend with1 or  
when in declining age we need every     
auxiliary to enable us to sustain our   
infirmities4  ,but1 before ,i conclude  
my remarks on this subject1 it is       
necessary that ,i should carefully      
distinguish between the thesis1 that    
self-complacency is the indispensible   
condition of all that is honourable in  
human achievements1 and the proposition 
contended against in ,essay ,,xi1 that  
self-love is the source of all our      
actions4 ,self-complacency is indeed the
 feeling without which we cannot proceed
 in an honourable course2 but is far    
from being the motive that impels us to 
act4 ,the motive is in the real nature  
and absolute properties of the good     
thing that is proposed to our choice3 we
 seek the happiness of another1 because 

his happiness is the object of our      
desire4 ,self-complacency may be likened
 to the bottle-holder in one of those   
contentions for bodily prowess1 so      
characteristic of our old ,english      
manners4 ,the bottle-holder is necessary
 to supply the combatant with           
refreshment1 and to encourage him to    
persist2 but it would be most unnatural 
to regard him as the cause of the       
contest4 ,no3 the parties have found    
reason for competition1 they apprehend a
 misunderstanding or a rivalry          
impossible to be settled but by open    
contention1 and the putting forth of    
mental and corporeal energy2 and the    
bottle-holder is an auxiliary called in 
afterwards1 his interference implying   
that the parties have already a motive  
to act1 and have thrown down the        
gauntlet in token of the earnest        
good-will which animates them to engage4
     ,,essay ,,xx4 ,,of ,,phrenology4   
,the following remarks can pretend to be
 nothing more than a few loose and      

undigested thoughts upon a subject1     
which has recently occupied the         
attention of many men1 and obtained an  
extraordinary vogue in the world4 ,it   
were to be wished1 that the task had    
fallen into the hands of a writer whose 
studies were more familiar with all the 
sciences which bear more or less on the 
topic ,i propose to consider3 but1 if   
abler and more competent men pass it by1
 ,i feel disposed to plant myself in the
 breach1 and to offer suggestions which 
may have the fortune to lead others1    
better fitted for the office than       
myself1 to engage in the investigation4 
,one advantage ,i may claim1 growing out
 of my partial deficiency4 ,it is known 
not to be uncommon for a man to stand   
too near to the subject of his survey1  
to allow him to obtain a large view of  
it in all its bearings4 ,i am no        
anatomist3 ,i simply take my stand upon 
the broad ground of the general         
philosophy of man4  ,it is a very usual 
thing for fanciful theories to have     

their turn amidst the eccentricities of 
the human mind1 and then to be heard of 
no more4 ,but it is perhaps no ill      
occupation1 now and then1 for an        
impartial observer1 to analyse these    
theories1 and attempt to blow away the  
dust which will occasionally settle on  
the surface of science4 ,if phrenology1 
as taught by ,gall and ,spurzheim1 be a 
truth1 ,i shall probably render a       
service to that truth1 by endeavouring  
to shew where the edifice stands in need
 of more solid supports than have yet   
been assigned to it4 ,if it be a        
falshood1 the sooner it is swept away to
 the gulph of oblivion the better4 ,let 
the inquisitive and the studious fix    
their minds on more substantial topics1 
instead of being led away by gaudy and  
deceitful appearances4 ,the human head1 
that crowning capital of the column of  
man1 is too interesting a subject1 to be
 the proper theme of every dabbler4 ,and
 it is obvious1 that the professors of  
this so called discovery1 if they be    

rash and groundless in their assertions1
 will be in danger of producing         
momentous errors1 of exciting false     
hopes never destined to be realised1 and
 of visiting with pernicious blasts the 
opening buds of excellence1 at the time 
when they are most exposed to the chance
 of destruction4  ,i shall set out with 
acknowledging1 that there is1 as ,i     
apprehend1 a science in relation to the 
human head1 something like what ,plato  
predicates of the statue hid in a block 
of marble4 ,it is really contained in   
the block2 but it is only the most      
consummate sculptor1 that can bring it  
to the eyes of men1 and free it from all
 the incumbrances1 which1 till he makes 
application of his art to it1 surround  
the statue1 and load it with obscurities
 and disfigurement4 ,the man1 who1      
without long study and premeditation1   
rushes in at once1 and expects to       
withdraw the curtain1 will only find    
himself disgraced by the attempt4       
,there is a passage in an acute         

writer7#ci71 whose talents singularly   
fitted him1 even when he appeared       
totally immerged in mummery and trifles1
 to illustrate the most important       
truths1 that is applicable to the point 
,i am considering4      7#ci7 ,sterne1  
,tristram ,shandy1 ,vol4 #a4   ,pray1   
what was that man's name1--for ,i write 
in such a hurry1 ,i have no time to     
recollect or look for it1--who first    
made the observation1 ',that there was  
great inconstancy in our air and        
climate8' ,whoever he was1 it was a just
 and good observation in him4 ,but the  
corollary drawn from it1 namely1 ',that 
it is this which has furnished us with  
such a variety of odd and whimsical     
characters2'--that was not his2--it was 
found out by another man1 at least a    
century and a half after him4 ,then     
again1 that this copious storehouse of  
original materials is the true and      
natural cause that our comedies are so  
much better than those of ,france1 or   
any others that have or can be wrote    

upon the continent2--that discovery was 
not fully made till about the middle of 
king ,william's reign1 when the great   
,dryden1 in writing one of his long     
prefaces 7if ,i mistake not71 most      
fortunately hit upon it4 ,then1 fourthly
 and lastly1 that this strange          
irregularity in our climate1 producing  
so strange an irregularity in our       
characters1 cloth thereby in some sort  
make us amends1 by giving us somewhat to
 make us merry with1 when the weather   
will not suffer us to go out of         
doors1--that observation is my own2 and 
was struck out by me this very rainy    
day1 ,march #bf1 #agei1 and betwixt the 
hour of nine and ten in the morning4    
,thus--thus1 my fellow-labourers and    
associates in this great harvest of our 
learning1 now ripening before our eyes2 
thus it is1 by slow steps of casual     
increase1 that our knowledge physical1  
metaphysical1 physiological1 polemical1 
nautical1 mathematical1 aenigmatical1   
technical1 biographical1 romantical1    

chemical1 and obstetrical1 with fifty   
other branches of it1 7most of them     
ending1 as these do1 in ical17 has1 for 
these two last centuries and more1      
gradually been creeping upwards towards 
that acme of their perfections1 from    
which1 if we may form a conjecture from 
the advantages of these last seven      
years1 we cannot possibly be far off4   
,nothing can be more true1 than the     
proposition ludicrously illustrated in  
this passage1 that real science is in   
most instances of slow growth1 and that 
the discoveries which are brought to    
perfection at once1 are greatly exposed 
to the suspicion of quackery4 ,like the 
ephemeron fly1 they are born suddenly1  
and may be expected to die as soon4     
,lavater1 the well known author of      
,essays on ,physiognomy1 appears to have
 been born seventeen years before the   
birth of ,gall4 ,he attempted to reduce 
into a system the indications of human  
character that are to be found in the   
countenance4 ,physiognomy1 as a subject 

of ingenious and probable conjecture1   
was well known to the ancients4 ,but the
 test1 how far any observations that    
have been made on the subject are worthy
 the name of a science1 will lie in its 
application by the professor to a person
 respecting whom he has had no          
opportunity of previous information4    
,nothing is more easy1 when a great     
warrior1 statesman1 poet1 philosopher or
 philanthropist is explicitly placed    
before us1 than for the credulous       
inspector or fond visionary to examine  
the lines of his countenance1 and to    
point at the marks which should plainly 
shew us that he ought to have been the  
very thing that he is4 ,this is the very
 trick of gipsies and fortune-tellers4  
,but who ever pointed to an utter       
stranger in the street1 and said1 ,i    
perceive by that man's countenance that 
he is one of the great luminaries of the
 world8 ,newton1 or ,bacon1 or          
,shakespear would probably have passed  
along unheeded4 ,instances of a similar 

nature occur every day4 ,hence it       
plainly appears that1 whatever may      
hereafter be known on the subject1 we   
can scarcely to the present time be said
 to have overstepped the threshold4 ,and
 yet nothing can be more certain than   
that there is a science of physiognomy1 
though to make use of an illustration   
already cited1 it has not to this day   
been extricated out of the block of     
marble in which it is hid4 ,human       
passions1 feelings and modes of thinking
 leave their traces on the countenance3 
but we have not1 thus far1 left the     
dame's school in this affair1 and are   
not qualified to enter ourselves in the 
free-school for more liberal enquiries4 
,the writings of ,lavater on the subject
 of physiognomy are couched in a sort of
 poetic prose1 overflowing with         
incoherent and vague exclamations1 and  
bearing small resemblance to a treatise 
in which the elements of science are to 
be developed4 ,their success however was
 extraordinary2 and it was probably that

 success1 which prompted ,gall first to 
turn his attention from the indications 
of character that are to be found in the
 face of man1 to the study of the head  
generally1 as connected with the        
intellectual and moral qualities of the 
individual4  ,it was about four years   
before the commencement of the present  
century1 that ,gall appears to have     
begun to deliver lectures on the        
structure and external appearances of   
the human head4 ,he tells us1 that his  
attention was first called to the       
subject in the ninth year of his age    
7that is1 in the year #agfg71 and that  
he spent thirty years in the private    
meditation of his system1 before he     
began to promulgate it4 ,be that as it  
will1 its most striking characteristic  
is that of marking out the scull into   
compartments1 in the same manner as a   
country delineated on a map is divided  
into districts1 and assigning a         
different faculty or organ to each4 ,in 
the earliest of these diagrams that has 

fallen under my observation1 the human  
scull is divided into twenty-seven      
compartments4  ,i would say of          
craniology1 as ,i have already said of  
physiognomy1 that there is such a       
science attainable probably by man1 but 
that we have yet made scarcely any      
progress in the acquiring it4 ,as       
certain lines in the countenance are    
indicative of the dispositions of the   
man1 so it is reasonable to believe that
 a certain structure of the head is in  
correspondence with the faculties and   
propensities of the individual4  ,thus  
far we may probably advance without     
violating a due degree of caution4 ,but 
there is a wide distance between this   
general statement1 and the conduct of   
the man who at once splits the human    
head into twenty-seven compartments4    
,the exterior appearance of the scull is
 affirmed to correspond with the        
structure of the brain beneath4 ,and    
nothing can be more analogous to what   
the deepest thinkers have already       

confessed of man1 than to suppose that  
there is one structure of the brain     
better adapted for intellectual purposes
 than another4 ,there is probably one   
structure better adapted than another1  
for calculation1 for poetry1 for        
courage1 for cowardice1 for presumption1
 for diffidence1 for roughness1 for     
tenderness1 for self-control and the    
want of it4 ,even as some have          
inherently a faculty adapted for music  
or the contrary7#dj74      7#dj7 ,see   
above1 ,essay ,,ii4   ,but it is not    
reasonable to believe that we think of  
calculation with one portion of the     
brain1 and of poetry with another4  ,it 
is very little that we know of the      
nature of matter2 and we are equally    
ignorant as to the substance1 whatever  
it is1 in which the thinking principle  
in man resides4 ,but1 without           
adventuring in any way to dogmatise on  
the subject1 we find so many analogies  
between the thinking principle1 and the 
structure of what we call the brain1    

that we cannot but regard the latter as 
in some way the instrument of the       
former4  ,now nothing can be more       
certain respecting the thinking         
principle1 than its individuality4 ,it  
has been said1 that the mind can        
entertain but one thought at one time2  
and certain it is1 from the nature of   
attention1 and from the association of  
ideas1 that unity is one of the         
principal characteristics of mind4 ,it  
is this which constitutes personal      
identity2 an attribute that1 however    
unsatisfactory may be the explanations  
which have been given respecting it1 we 
all of us feel1 and that lies at the    
foundation of all our voluntary actions1
 and all our morality4  ,analogous to   
this unity of thought and mind1 is the  
arrangement of the nerves and the brain 
in the human body4 ,the nerves all lead 
up to the brain2 and there is a         
centrical point in the brain itself1 in 
which the reports of the senses         
terminate1 and at which the action of   

the will may be conceived to begin4     
,this1 in the language of our fathers1  
was called the seat of the soul4  ,we   
may therefore1 without departing from   
the limits of a due caution and modesty1
 consider this as the throne before     
which the mind holds its court4 ,hither 
the senses bring in their reports1 and  
hence the sovereign will issues his     
commands4 ,the whole system appears to  
be conducted through the instrumentality
 of the nerves1 along whose subtle      
texture the feelings and impressions are
 propagated4 ,between the reports of the
 senses and the commands of the will1   
intervenes that which is emphatically   
the office of the mind1 comprising      
meditation1 reflection1 inference and   
judgment4 ,how these functions are      
performed we know not2 but it is        
reasonable to believe that the substance
 of the brain or of some part of the    
brain is implicated in them4  ,still    
however we must not lose sight of what  
has been already said1 that in the      

action of the mind unity is an          
indispensible condition4 ,our thoughts  
can only hold their council and form    
their decrees in a very limited region4 
,this is their retreat and strong hold2 
and the special use and functions of the
 remoter parts of the brain we are      
unable to determine2 so utterly obscure 
and undefined is our present knowledge  
of the great ligament which binds       
together the body and the thinking      
principle4  ,enough however results from
 this imperfect view of the ligament1 to
 demonstrate the incongruity and        
untenableness of a doctrine which should
 assign the indications of different    
functions1 exercises and propensities of
 the mind to the exterior surface of the
 scull or the brain4 ,this is quackery1 
and is to be classed with chiromancy1   
augury1 astrology1 and the rest of those
 schemes for discovering the future and 
unknown1 which the restlessness and     
anxiety of the human mind have invented1
 built upon arbitrary principles1       

blundered upon in the dark1 and having  
no resemblance to the march of genuine  
science4 ,i find in sir ,thomas ,browne 
the following axioms of chiromancy3 that
 spots in the tops of the nails do      
signifie things past2 in the middle1    
things present2 and at the bottom1      
events to come3 that white specks       
presage our felicity2 blue ones our     
misfortunes3 that those in the nails of 
the thumb have significations of honour1
 in the forefinger1 of riches1 and so   
respectively in the rest4  ,science1 to 
be of a high and satisfactory character1
 ought to consist of a deduction of     
causes and effects1 shewing us not      
merely that a thing is so1 but why it is
 as it is1 and cannot be otherwise4 ,the
 rest is merely empirical2 and1 though  
the narrowness of human wit may often   
drive us to this2 yet it is essentially 
of a lower order and description4 ,as it
 depends for its authority upon an      
example1 or a number of examples1 so    
examples of a contrary nature may       

continually come in1 to weaken its      
force1 or utterly to subvert it4 ,and   
the affair is made still worse1 when we 
see1 as in the case of craniology1 that 
all the reasons that can be deduced 7as 
here from the nature of mind7 would     
persuade us to believe1 that there can  
be no connection between the supposed   
indications1 and the things pretended to
 be indicated4  ,craniology1 or         
phrenology1 proceeds exactly in the same
 train1 as chiromancy1 or any of those  
pretended sciences which are built      
merely on assumption or conjecture4 ,the
 first delineations presented to the    
public1 marked out1 as ,i have said1 the
 scull into compartments1 in the same   
manner as a country delineated on a map 
is divided into districts4 ,geography is
 a real science1 and accordingly1 like  
other sciences1 has been slow and       
gradual in its progress4 ,at an early   
stage travellers knew little more than  
the shores and islands of the           
,mediterranean4 ,afterwards1 they passed

 the straits of ,hercules1 and entered  
into the ,atlantic4 ,at length the      
habitable world was distributed into    
three parts1 ,europe1 ,asia1 and        
,africa4 ,more recently1 by many        
centuries1 came the discovery of        
,america4 ,it is but the other day      
comparatively1 that we found the        
extensive island of ,new ,holland in the
 ,southern ,ocean4 ,the ancient         
geographers placed an elephant or some  
marine monster in the vacant parts of   
their maps1 to signify that of these    
parts they knew nothing4 ,not so ,dr4   
,gall4 ,every part of his globe of the  
human ,scull1 at least with small       
exceptions1 is fully tenanted2 and he1  
with his single arm1 has conquered a    
world4  ,the majority of the judgments  
that have been divulged by the          
professors of this science1 have had for
 their subjects the sculls of men1 whose
 habits and history have been already   
known4 ,and yet with this advantage the 
errors and contradictions into which    

their authors have fallen are           
considerably numerous4 ,thus ,i find1 in
 the account of the doctor's visit to   
the ,house of ,correction and the       
,hospital of ,torgau in ,july #ahje1 the
 following examples4  ,every person was 
desirous to know what ,dr4 ,gall would  
say about ,t--1 who was known in the    
house as a thief full of cunning1 and   
who1 having several times made his      
escape1 wore an additional iron4 ,it was
 surprising1 that he saw in him far less
 of the organ of cunning1 than in many  
of the other prisoners4 ,however it was 
proved1 that examples1 and conversation 
with other thieves in the house1 had    
suggested to him the plan for his       
escape1 and that the stupidity which he 
possesses was the cause of his being    
retaken4  ,we were much surprised to be 
told1 that ,m41 in whom ,dr4 ,gall had  
not discovered the organ of             
representation1 possessed extraordinary 
abilities in imitating the voice of     
animals2 but we were convinced after    

enquiries1 that his talent was not a    
natural one1 but acquired by study4 ,he 
related to us that1 when he was a       
,prussian soldier garrisoned at ,berlin1
 he used to deceive the waiting women in
 the ,foundling ,hospital by imitating  
the voice of exposed infants1 and       
sometimes counterfeited the cry of a    
wild drake1 when the officers were      
shooting ducks4  ,of another ,dr4 ,gall 
said1 ,his head is a pattern of         
inconstancy and confinement1 and there  
appears not the least mark of the organ 
of courage4 ,this rogue had been able to
 gain a great authority among his       
fellow-convicts4 ,how is this to be     
reconciled with the want of constancy   
which his organisation plainly          
indicates8 ,dr4 ,gall answered1 ,he     
gained his ascendancy not by courage1   
but by cunning4  ,it is well known1 that
 in ,thurtel1 who was executed for one  
of the most cold-blooded and remorseless
 murders ever heard of1 the             
phrenologists found the organ of        

benevolence uncommonly large4  ,in      
,spurzheim's delineation of the human   
head ,i find six divisions of organs    
marked out in the little hemisphere over
 the eye1 indicating six different      
dispositions4 ,must there not be in this
 subtle distribution much of what is    
arbitrary and sciolistic8  ,it is to be 
regretted1 that no person skilful in    
metaphysics1 or the history of the human
 mind1 has taken a share in this        
investigation4 ,many errors and much    
absurdity would have been removed from  
the statements of these theorists1 if a 
proper division had been made between   
those attributes and propensities1 which
 by possibility a human creature may    
bring into the world with him1 and those
 which1 being the pure growth of the    
arbitrary institutions of society1 must 
be indebted to those institutions for   
their origin4 ,i have endeavoured in a  
former ,essay7#da7 to explain this      
distinction1 and to shew how1 though a  
human being cannot be born with an      

express propensity towards any one of   
the infinite pursuits and occupations   
which may be found in civilised society1
 yet that he may be fitted by his       
external or internal structure to excel 
in some one of those pursuits rather    
than another4 ,but all this is          
overlooked by the phrenologists4 ,they  
remark the various habits and           
dispositions1 the virtues and the vices1
 that display themselves in society as  
now constituted1 and at once and without
 consideration trace them to the        
structure that we bring into the world  
with us4      7#da7 ,see above1 ,essay  
,,ii4   ,certainly many of ,gall's      
organs are a libel upon our common      
nature4 ,and1 though a scrupulous and   
exact philosopher will perhaps confess  
that he has little distinct knowledge as
 to the design with which the earth and 
all that is therein were made1 yet he   
finds in it so much of beauty and       
beneficent tendency1 as will make him   
extremely reluctant to believe that some

 men are born with a decided propensity 
to rob1 and others to murder4 ,nor can  
any thing be more ludicrous than this   
author's distinction of the different   
organs of memory--of things1 of places1 
of names1 of language1 and of numbers3  
organs1 which must be conceived to be   
given in the first instance long before 
names or language or numbers had an     
existence4 ,the followers of ,gall have 
in a few instances corrected this3 but  
what their denominations have gained in 
avoiding the grossest absurdities of    
their master1 they have certainly lost  
in explicitness and perspicuity4  ,there
 is a distinction1 not unworthy to be   
attended to1 that is here to be made    
between ,lavater's system of            
physiognomy1 and ,gall's of craniology1 
which is much in favour of the former4  
,the lines and characteristic           
expressions of the face which may so    
frequently be observed1 are for the most
 part the creatures of the mind4 ,this  
is in the first place a mode of         

observation more agreeable to the pride 
and conscious elevation of man1 and is  
in the next place more suitable to      
morality1 and the vindication of all    
that is most admirable in the system of 
the universe4 ,it is just1 that what is 
most frequently passing in the mind1 and
 is entertained there with the greatest 
favour1 should leave its traces upon the
 countenance4 ,it is thus that the high 
and exalted philosopher1 the poet1 and  
the man of benevolence and humanity are 
sometimes seen to be such by the        
bystander and the stranger4 ,while the  
malevolent1 the trickish1 and the       
grossly sensual1 give notice of what    
they are by the cast of their features1 
and put their fellow-creatures upon     
their guard1 that they may not be made  
the prey of these vices4  ,but the march
 of craniology or phrenology1 by        
whatever name it is called1 is directly 
the reverse of this4 ,it assigns to us  
organs1 as far as the thing is explained
 by the professors either to the public 

or to their own minds1 which are        
entailed upon us from our birth1 and    
which are altogether independent1 or    
nearly so1 of any discipline or volition
 that can be exercised by or upon the   
individual who drags their intolerable  
chain4 ,thus ,i am told of one          
individual that he wants the organ of   
colour2 and all the culture in the world
 can never supply that defect1 and      
enable him to see colour at all1 or to  
see it as it is seen by the rest of     
mankind4 ,another wants the organ of    
benevolence2 and his case is equally    
hopeless4 ,i shrink from considering the
 condition of the wretch1 to whom nature
 has supplied the organs of theft and   
murder in full and ample proportions4   
,the case is like that of astrology     
7,their stars are more in fault than    
they71  with this aggravation1 that our 
stars1 so far as the faculty of         
prediction had been supposed to be      
attained1 swayed in few things2 but     
craniology climbs at once to universal  

empire2 and in her map1 as ,i have said1
 there are no vacant places1 no         
unexplored regions and happy            
wide-extended deserts4  ,it is all a    
system of fatalism4 ,independently of   
ourselves1 and far beyond our control1  
we are reserved for good or for evil by 
the predestinating spirit that reigns   
over all things4 ,unhappy is the        
individual who enters himself in this   
school4 ,he has no consolation1 except  
the gratified wish to know distressing  
truths1 unless we add to this the pride 
of science1 that he has by his own skill
 and application purchased for himself  
the discernment which places him in so  
painful a preeminence4 ,the great       
triumph of man is in the power of       
education1 to improve his intellect1 to 
sharpen his perceptions1 and to regulate
 and modify his moral qualities4 ,but   
craniology reduces this to almost       
nothing1 and exhibits us for the most   
part as the helpless victims of a blind 
and remorseless destiny4  ,in the mean  

time it is happy for us1 that1 as this  
system is perhaps the most rigorous and 
degrading that was ever devised1 so it  
is in almost all instances founded upon 
arbitrary assumptions and confident     
assertion1 totally in opposition to the 
true spirit of patient and laborious    
investigation and sound philosophy4  ,it
 is in reality very little that we know 
of the genuine characters of men4 ,every
 human creature is a mystery to his     
fellow4 ,every human character is made  
up of incongruities4 ,of nearly all the 
great personages in history it is       
difficult to say what was decidedly the 
motive in which their actions and system
 of conduct originated4 ,we study what  
they did1 and what they said2 but in    
vain4 ,we never arrive at a full and    
demonstrative conclusion4 ,in reality no
 man can be certainly said to know      
himself4 ,the heart of man is deceitful 
above all things4  ,but these dogmatists
 overlook all those difficulties1 which 
would persuade a wise man to suspend his

 judgment1 and induce a jury of         
philosophers to hesitate for ever as to 
the verdict they would pronounce4 ,they 
look only at the external character of  
the act by which a man honours or       
disgraces himself4 ,they decide         
presumptuously and in a lump1 ,this man 
is a murderer1 a hero1 a coward1 the    
slave of avarice1 or the votary of      
philanthropy2 and then1 surveying the   
outside of his head1 undertake to find  
in him the configuration that should    
indicate these dispositions1 and must be
 found in all persons of a similar      
character1 or rather whose acts bear the
 same outward form1 and seem analogous  
to his4  ,till we have discovered the   
clue that should enable us to unravel   
the labyrinth of the human mind1 it is  
with small hopes of success that we     
should expect to settle the external    
indications1 and decide that this sort  
of form and appearance1 and that class  
of character1 will always be found      
together4  ,but it is not to be wondered

 at1 that these disorderly fragments of 
a shapeless science should become the   
special favourites of the idle and the  
arrogant4 ,every man 7and every woman71 
however destitute of real instruction1  
and unfitted for the investigation of   
the deep or the sublime mysteries of our
 nature1 can use his eyes and his hands4
 ,the whole boundless congregation of   
mankind1 with its everlasting varieties1
 is thus at once subjected to the       
sentence of every pretender3       ,and 
fools rush in1 where angels fear to     
tread4  ,nothing is more delightful to  
the headlong and presumptuous1 than thus
 to sit in judgment on their betters1   
and pronounce ex cathedra on those1     
whose shoe-latchet they are not worthy  
to stoop down and unloose4 ,i remember1 
after lord ,george ,gordon's riots1     
eleven persons accused were set down in 
one indictment for their lives1 and     
given in charge to one jury4 ,but this  
is a mere shadow1 a nothing1 compared   
with the wholesale and indiscriminating 

judgment of the vulgar phrenologist4    
,,essay ,,xxi4 ,,of ,,astronomy4        
,,section ,i4  ,it can scarcely be      
imputed to me as profane1 if ,i venture 
to put down a few sceptical doubts on   
the science of astronomy4 ,all branches 
of knowledge are to be considered as    
fair subjects of enquiry3 and he that   
has never doubted1 may be said1 in the  
highest and strictest sense of the word1
 never to have believed4  ,the first    
volume that furnished to me the         
groundwork of the following doubts1 was 
the book commonly known by the name of  
,guthrie's ,geographical ,grammar1 many 
parts and passages of which engaged my  
attention in my own study1 in the house 
of a rural schoolmaster1 in the year    
#aggb4 ,i cannot therefore proceed more 
fairly than by giving here an extract of
 certain passages in that book1 which   
have relation to the present subject4 ,i
 know not how far they have been altered
 in the edition of ,guthrie which now   
lies before me1 from the language of the

 book then in my possession2 but ,i feel
 confident that in the main particulars 
they continue the same7#db74      7#db7 
,the article ,astronomy1 in this book1  
appears to have been written by the well
 known ,james ,ferguson4   ,in passing  
rapidly over the heavens with his new   
telescope1 the universe increased under 
the eye of ,herschel2 #dd1jjj stars1    
seen in the space of a few degrees1     
seemed to indicate that there were      
seventy-five millions in the heavens4   
,but what are all these1 when compared  
with those that fill the whole expanse1 
the boundless field of aether8  ,the    
immense distance of the fixed stars from
 our earth1 and from each other1 is of  
all considerations the most proper for  
raising our ideas of the works of ,god4 
,modern discoveries make it probable    
that each of these stars is a sun1      
having planets and comets revolving     
round it1 as our sun has the earth and  
other planets revolving round him4--,a  
ray of light1 though its motion is so   

quick as to be commonly thought         
instantaneous1 takes up more time in    
travelling from the stars to us1 than we
 do in making a ,west-,india voyage4 ,a 
sound1 which1 next to light1 is         
considered as the quickest body we are  
acquainted with1 would not arrive to us 
from thence in #ej1jjj years4 ,and a    
cannon-ball1 flying at the rate of #dhj 
miles an hour1 would not reach us in    
#gjj1jjj years4  ,from what we know of  
our own system1 it may be reasonably    
concluded1 that all the rest are with   
equal wisdom contrived1 situated1 and   
provided with accommodations for        
rational inhabitants4  ,what a sublime  
idea does this suggest to the human     
imagination1 limited as are its powers1 
of the works of the ,creator6 ,thousands
 and thousands of suns1 multiplied      
without end1 and ranged all around us1  
at immense distances from each other1   
attended by ten thousand times ten      
thousand worlds1 all in rapid motion1   
yet calm1 regular and harmonious1       

invariably keeping the paths prescribed 
them3 and these worlds peopled with     
myriads of intelligent beings1 formed   
for endless progression in perfection   
and felicity6  ,the thought that would  
immediately occur to a dispassionate man
 in listening to this statement1 would  
be1 ,what a vast deal am ,i here called 
on to believe6  ,now the first rule of  
sound and sober judgment1 in            
encountering any story1 is that1 in     
proportion to the magnitude and         
seemingly incredible nature of the      
propositions tendered to our belief1    
should be the strength and impregnable  
nature of the evidence by which those   
propositions are supported4  ,it is not 
here1 as in matters of religion1 that we
 are called upon by authority from on   
high to believe in mysteries1 in things 
above our reason1 or1 as it may be1     
contrary to our reason4 ,no man pretends
 to a revelation from heaven of the     
truths of astronomy4 ,they have been    
brought to light by the faculties of the

 human mind1 exercised upon such facts  
and circumstances as our industry has   
set before us4  ,to persons not         
initiated in the rudiments of           
astronomical science1 they rest upon the
 great and high-sounding names of       
,galileo1 ,kepler1 ,halley and ,newton4 
,but1 though these men are eminently    
entitled to honour and gratitude from   
their fellow-mortals1 they do not stand 
altogether on the same footing as       
,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke and ,john1 by    
whose pens has been recorded every word 
that proceedeth out of the mouth of     
,god4  ,the modest enquirer therefore1  
without pretending to put himself on an 
equality with these illustrious men1 may
 be forgiven1 when he permits himself to
 suggest a few doubts1 and presumes to  
examine the grounds upon which he is    
called upon to believe all that is      
contained in the above passages4  ,now  
the foundations upon which astronomy1 as
 here delivered1 is built1 are1 first1  
the evidence of our senses1 secondly1   

the calculations of the mathematician1  
and1 in the third place1 moral          
considerations4 ,these have been        
denominated respectively1 practical     
astronomy1 scientific1 and theoretical4 
,as to the first of these1 it is        
impossible for us on this occasion not  
to recollect what has so often occurred 
as to have grown into an every-day      
observation1 of the fallibility of our  
senses4  ,it may be doubted however     
whether this is a just statement4 ,we   
are not deceived by our senses1 but     
deceived in the inference we make from  
our sensations4 ,our sensations         
respecting what we call the external    
world1 are chiefly those of length1     
breadth and solidity1 hardness and      
softness1 heat and cold1 colour1 smell1 
sound and taste4 ,the inference which   
the generality of mankind make in       
relation to these sensations is1 that   
there is something out of ourselves     
corresponding to the impressions we     
receive2 in other words1 that the causes

 of our sensations are like to the      
sensations themselves4 ,but this is1    
strictly speaking1 an inference2 and1 if
 the cause of a sensation is not like   
the sensation1 it cannot precisely be   
affirmed that our senses deceive us4 ,we
 know what passes in the theatre of the 
mind2 but we cannot be said absolutely  
to know any thing1 more4  ,modern       
philosophy has taught us1 in certain    
cases1 to controvert the position1 that 
the causes of our sensations are like to
 the sensations themselves4 ,locke in   
particular has called the attention of  
the reasoning part of mankind to the    
consideration1 that heat and cold1 sweet
 and bitter1 and odour offensive or     
otherwise1 are perceptions1 which imply 
a percipient being1 and cannot exist in 
inanimate substances4 ,we might with    
equal propriety ascribe pain to the whip
 that beats us1 or pleasure to the      
slight alternation of contact in the    
person or thing that tickles us1 as     
suppose that heat and cold1 or taste1 or

 smell are any thing but sensations4    
,the same philosophers who have called  
our attention to these remarks1 have    
proceeded to shew that the causes of our
 sensations of sound and colour have no 
precise correspondence1 do not tally    
with the sensations we receive4 ,sound  
is the result of a percussion of the    
air4 ,colour is produced by the         
reflection of the rays of light2 so that
 the same object1 placed in a position1 
different as to the spectator1 but in   
itself remaining unaltered1 will produce
 in him a sensation of different        
colours1 or shades of colour1 now blue1 
now green1 now brown1 now black1 and so 
on4 ,this is the doctrine of ,newton1 as
 well as of ,locke4  ,it follows that1  
if there were no percipient being to    
receive these sensations1 there would be
 no heat or cold1 no taste1 no smell1 no
 sound1 and no colour4  ,aware of this  
difference between our sensations in    
certain cases and the causes of these   
sensations1 ,locke has divided the      

qualities of substances in the material 
universe into primary and secondary1 the
 sensations we receive of the primary   
representing the actual qualities of    
material substances1 but the sensations 
we receive of what he calls the         
secondary having no proper resemblance  
to the causes that produce them4  ,now1 
if we proceed in the spirit of severe   
analysis to examine the primary         
qualities of matter1 we shall not       
perhaps find so marked a distinction    
between those and the secondary1 as the 
statement of ,locke would have led us to
 imagine4  ,the ,optics of ,newton were 
published fourteen years later than     
,locke's ,essay concerning ,human       
,understanding4  ,in endeavouring to    
account for the uninterrupted           
transmission of rays of light through   
transparent substances1 however hard    
they may be found to be1 ,newton has    
these observations4  ,bodies are much   
more rare and porous1 than is commonly  
believed4 ,water is nineteen times      

lighter1 and by consequence nineteen    
times rarer1 than gold2 and gold is so  
rare1 as very readily1 and without the  
least opposition1 to transmit the       
magnetic effluvia1 and easily to admit  
quicksilver into its pores1 and to let  
water pass through it4 ,from all which  
we may conclude1 that gold has more     
pores than solid parts1 and by          
consequence that water has above forty  
times more pores than parts4 ,and he    
that shall find out an hypothesis1 by   
which water may be so rare1 and yet not 
capable of compression by force1 may    
doubtless1 by the same hypothesis1 make 
gold1 and water1 and all other bodies1  
as much rarer as he pleases1 so that    
light may find a ready passage through  
transparent substances7#dc74      7#dc7 
,newton1 ,optics1 ,book ,,ii1 ,part     
,,iii1 ,prop4 viii4   ,again3 ,the      
colours of bodies arise from the        
magnitude of the particles that reflect 
them4 ,now1 if we conceive these        
particles of bodies to be so disposed   

among themselves1 that the intervals1 or
 empty spaces between them1 may be equal
 in magnitude to them all2 and that     
these particles may be composed of other
 particles much smaller1 which have as  
much empty space between them as equals 
all the magnitudes of these smaller     
particles2 and that in like manner these
 smaller particles are again composed of
 others much smaller1 all which together
 are equal to all the pores1 or empty   
spaces1 between them2 and so on         
perpetually till you come to solid      
particles1 such as have no pores1 or    
empty spaces within them3 and if in any 
gross body there be1 for instance1 three
 such degrees of particles1 the least of
 which are solid2 this body will have   
seven times more pores than solid parts4
 ,but if there be four such degrees of  
particles1 the least of which are solid1
 the body will have fifteen times more  
pores than solid parts4 ,if there be    
five degrees1 the body will have one and
 thirty times more pores than solid     

parts4 ,if six degrees1 the body will   
have sixty and three times more pores   
than solid parts4 ,and so on            
perpetually7#dd74      7#dd7 ,ibid4     
,in the ,queries annexed to the ,optics1
 ,newton further suggests an opinion1   
that the rays of light are repelled by  
bodies without immediate contact4 ,he   
observes that3  ,where attraction       
ceases1 there a repulsive virtue ought  
to succeed4 ,and that there is such a   
virtue1 seems to follow from the        
reflexions and inflexions of the rays of
 light4 ,for the rays are repelled by   
bodies1 in both these cases1 without the
 immediate contact of the reflecting or 
inflecting body4 ,it seems also to      
follow from the emission of light2 the  
ray1 so soon as it is shaken off from a 
shining body by the vibrating motion of 
the parts of the body1 and gets beyond  
the reach of attraction1 being driven   
away with exceeding great velocity4 ,for
 that force1 which is sufficient to turn
 it back in reflexion1 may be sufficient

 to emit it4 ,it seems also to follow   
from the production of air and vapour3  
the particles1 when they are shaken off 
from bodies by heat or fermentation1 so 
soon as they are beyond the reach of the
 attraction of the body1 receding from  
it and also from one another1 with great
 strength2 and keeping at a distance1 so
 as sometimes to take up a million of   
times more space than they did before1  
in the form of a dense body4  ,newton   
was of opinion that matter was made up1 
in the last resort1 of exceedingly small
 solid particles1 having no pores1 or   
empty spaces within them4 ,priestley1 in
 his ,disquisitions relating to ,matter 
and ,spirit1 carries the theory one step
 farther2 and1 as ,newton surrounds his 
exceedingly small particles with spheres
 of attraction and repulsion1 precluding
 in all cases their actual contact1     
,priestley is disposed to regard the    
centre of these spheres as mathematical 
points only4 ,if there is no actual     
contact1 then by the very terms no two  

particles of matter were ever so near to
 each other1 but that they might be     
brought nearer1 if a sufficient force   
could be applied for that purpose4 ,you 
had only another sphere of repulsion to 
conquer2 and1 as there never is actual  
contact1 the whole world is made up of  
one sphere of repulsion after another1  
without the possibility of ever arriving
 at an end4  ,the principles of the     
,newtonian philosophy1 says our author1 
were no sooner known1 than it was seen  
how few in comparison1 of the phenomena 
of nature1 were owing to solid matter1  
and how much to powers1 which were only 
supposed to accompany and surround the  
solid parts of matter4 ,it has been     
asserted1 and the assertion has never   
been disproved1 that for any thing we   
know to the contrary1 all the solid     
matter in the solar system might be     
contained within a nutshell7#de74       
7#de7 ,priestley1 ,disquisitions1       
,section ,,ii4 ,i know not by whom this 
illustration was first employed4 ,among 

other authors1 ,i find1 in ,fielding    
7,joseph ,andrews1 ,book ,,ii1 ,chap4   
,,ii71 a sect of philosophers spoken of1
 who can reduce all the matter of the   
world into a nutshell4   ,it is then    
with senses1 from the impressions upon  
which we are impelled to draw such false
 conclusions1 and that present us with  
images altogether unlike any thing that 
exists out of ourselves1 that we come to
 observe the phenomena of what we call  
the universe4 ,the first observation    
that it is here incumbent on us to make1
 and which we ought to keep ever at     
hand1 to be applied as occasion may     
offer1 is the well known aphorism of    
,socrates1 that we know only this1 that 
we know nothing4 ,we have no compass to 
guide us through the pathless waters of 
science2 we have no revelation1 at least
 on the subject of astronomy1 and of the
 unnumbered inhabitable worlds that     
float in the ocean of ether2 and we are 
bound therefore to sail1 as the mariners
 of ancient times sailed1 always within 

sight of land4 ,one of the earliest     
maxims of ordinary prudence1 is that we 
ought ever to correct the reports of one
 sense by the assistance of another     
sense4 ,the things we here speak of are 
not matters of faith2 and in them       
therefore it is but reason1 that we     
should imitate the conduct of ,didymus  
the apostle1 who said1 ,except ,i put my
 fingers into the prints of the nails1  
and thrust my hand into his side1 ,i    
will not believe4 ,my eyes report to me 
an object1 as having a certain          
magnitude1 texture1 and roughness or    
smoothness2 but ,i require that my hands
 should confirm to me the evidence of my
 eyes4 ,i see something that appears to 
be an island at an uncertain distance   
from the shore2 but1 if ,i am actuated  
by a laudable curiosity1 and wish to    
possess a real knowledge1 ,i take a     
boat1 and proceed to ascertain by nearer
 inspection1 whether that which ,i      
imagined to be an island is an island or
 no4  ,there are indeed many objects    

with which we are conversant1 that are  
in so various ways similar to each      
other1 that1 after having carefully     
examined a few1 we are satisfied upon   
slighter investigation to admit the     
dimensions and character of others4     
,thus1 having measured with a quadrant  
the height of a tower1 and found on the 
narrowest search and comparison that the
 report of my instrument was right1 ,i  
yield credit to this process in another 
instance1 without being at the trouble  
to verify its results in any more       
elaborate method4  ,the reason why we   
admit the inference flowing from our    
examination in the second instance1 and 
so onward1 with less scrupulosity and   
scepticism than in the first1 is that   
there is a strict resemblance and       
analogy in the two cases4 ,experience is
 the basis of our conclusions and our   
conduct4 ,i strike against a given      
object1 a nail for example1 with a      
certain degree of force1 because ,i have
 remarked in myself and others the      

effect of such a stroke4 ,i take food   
and masticate it1 because ,i have found 
that this process contributes to the    
sound condition of my body and mind4 ,i 
scatter certain seeds in my field1 and  
discharge the other functions of an     
agriculturist1 because ,i have observed 
that in due time the result of this     
industry is a crop4 ,all the propriety  
of these proceedings depends upon the   
exact analogy between the old case and  
the new one4 ,the state of the affair is
 still the same1 when my business is    
merely that of an observer and a        
traveller4 ,i know water from earth1    
land from sea1 and mountains from       
vallies1 because ,i have had experience 
of these objects1 and confidently infer 
that1 when certain appearances present  
themselves to my organs of sight1 ,i    
shall find the same results to all my   
other senses1 as ,i found when such     
appearances occurred to me before4  ,but
 the interval that divides the objects  
which occur upon and under the earth1   

and are accessible in all ways to our   
examination1 on the one hand1 and the   
lights which are suspended over our     
heads in the heavens on the other1 is of
 the broadest and most memorable nature4
 ,human beings1 in the infancy of the   
world1 were contented reverently to     
behold these in their calmness and      
beauty1 perhaps to worship them1 and to 
remark the effects that they produced1  
or seemed to produce1 upon man and the  
subjects of his industry4 ,but they did 
not aspire to measure their dimensions1 
to enquire into their internal frame1 or
 to explain the uses1 far removed from  
our sphere of existence1 which they     
might be intended to serve4  ,it is     
however one of the effects of the       
improvement of our intellect1 to enlarge
 our curiosity4 ,the daringness of human
 enterprise is one of the prime glories 
of our nature4 ,it is our boast that we 
undertake to measure earth1 weigh air1  
and state the tides4 ,and1 when success 
crowns the boldness of our aspirations  

after what vulgar and timorous prudence 
had pronounced impossible1 it is then   
chiefly that we are seen to participate 
of an essence divine4  ,what has not man
 effected by the boldness of his        
conceptions and the adventurousness of  
his spirit8 ,the achievements of human  
genius have appeared so incredible1 till
 they were thoroughly examined1 and     
slowly established their right to       
general acceptance1 that the great      
heroes of intellect were universally    
regarded by their contemporaries as     
dealers in magic1 and implements of the 
devil4 ,the inventor of the art of      
printing1 that glorious instrument for  
advancing the march of human            
improvement1 and the discoverer of the  
more questionable art of making         
gunpowder1 alike suffered under this    
imputation4 ,we have rendered the seas  
and the winds instruments of our        
pleasure1 exhausted the old world1 and  
then discovered a new one1 have drawn   
down lightning from heaven1 and         

exhibited equal rights and independence 
to mankind4 ,still however it is        
incumbent on us to be no less wary and  
suspicious than we are bold1 and not to 
imagine1 because we have done much1 that
 we are therefore able to effect every  
thing4  ,as was stated in the           
commencement of this ,essay1 we know our
 own sensations1 and we know little     
more4 ,matter1 whether in its primary or
 secondary qualities1 is certainly not  
the sort of thing the vulgar imagine it 
to be4 ,the illustrious ,berkeley has   
taught many to doubt of its existence   
altogether2 and later theorists have    
gone farther than this1 and endeavoured 
to shew1 that each man1 himself while he
 speaks on the subject1 and you and ,i  
while we hear1 have no conclusive       
evidence to convince us1 that we may    
not1 each of us1 for aught we know1 be  
the only thing that exists1 an entire   
universe to ourselves4  ,we will not    
however follow these ingenious persons  
to the startling extreme to which their 

speculations would lead us4 ,but1       
without doing so1 it will not misbecome 
us to be cautious1 and to reflect what  
we do1 before we take a leap into       
illimitable space4   ,,section ,,ii4    
,the sun1 we are told1 is a solid body1 
ninety-five millions of miles distant   
from the earth we inhabit1 one million  
times larger in cubic measurement1 and  
to such a degree impregnated with heat1 
that a comet1 approaching to it within a
 certain distance1 was by that          
approximation raised to a heat two      
thousand times greater than that of     
red-hot iron4  ,it will be acknowledged1
 that there is in this statement much to
 believe2 and we shall not be exposed to
 reasonable blame1 if we refuse to      
subscribe to it1 till we have received  
irresistible evidence of its truth4  ,it
 has already been observed1 that1 for   
the greater part of what we imagine we  
know on the surface or in the bowels of 
the earth1 we have1 or may have if we   
please1 the evidence of more than one of

 our senses1 combining to lead to the   
same conclusion4 ,for the propositions  
of astronomy we have no sensible        
evidence1 but that of sight1 and an     
imperfect analogy1 leading from those   
visible impressions which we can verify1
 to a reliance upon those which we      
cannot4  ,the first cardinal particular 
we meet with in the above statement     
concerning the sun1 is the term1        
distance4 ,now1 all that1 strictly      
speaking1 we can affirm respecting the  
sun and other heavenly bodies1 is that  
we have the same series of impressions  
respecting them1 that we have respecting
 terrestrial objects near or remote1 and
 that there is an imperfect analogy     
between the one case and the other4     
,before we affirm any thing1 as of our  
own knowledge and competence1 respecting
 heavenly bodies which are said to be   
millions of millions of miles removed   
from us1 it would not perhaps be amiss  
that we should possess ourselves of a   
certain degree of incontestible         

information1 as to the things which     
exist on the earth we inhabit4 ,among   
these1 one of the subjects attended with
 a great degree of doubt and obscurity1 
is the height of the mountains with     
which the surface of the globe we       
inhabit is diversified4 ,it is affirmed 
in the received books of elementary     
geography1 that the ,andes are the      
highest mountains in the world4 ,morse1 
in his ,american ,gazetteer1 third      
edition1 printed at ,boston in          
#ahaj7df71 says1 ,the height of         
,chimborazzo1 the most elevated point of
 the vast chain of the ,andes1 is       
#bj1bhj feet above the level of the sea1
 which is #gajb feet higher than any    
other mountain in the known world3 thus 
making the elevation of the mountains of
 ,thibet1 or whatever other rising      
ground the compiler had in his thought1 
precisely #ac1agh feet above the level  
of the sea1 and no more4 ,this decision 
however has lately been contradicted4   
,mr4 ,hugh ,murray1 in an ,account of   

,discoveries and ,travels in ,asia1     
published in #ahbj1 has collated the    
reports of various recent travellers in 
central ,asia2 and he states the height 
of ,chumularee1 which he speaks of as   
the most elevated point of the mountains
 of ,thibet1 as nearly #cj1jjj feet     
above the level of the sea4      7#df7  
,article1 ,andes4   ,the elevation of   
mountains1 till lately1 was in no way   
attempted to be ascertained but by the  
use of the quadrant1 and their height   
was so generally exaggerated1 that      
,riccioli1 one of the most eminent      
astronomers of the seventeenth century1 
gives it as his opinion that mountains1 
like the ,caucasus1 may have a          
perpendicular elevation of fifty        
,italian miles7#dg74 ,later observers   
have undertaken to correct the          
inaccuracy of these results through the 
application of the barometer1 and thus1 
by informing themselves of the weight of
 the air at a certain elevation1        
proceeding to infer the height of the   

situation4      7#dg7 ,rees1            
,encyclopedia2 article1 ,mountains4     
,there are many circumstances1 which are
 calculated to induce a circumspect     
enquirer to regard the affirmative      
positions of astronomy1 as they are     
delivered by the most approved modern   
writers1 with considerable diffidence4  
,they are founded1 as has already been  
said1 next to the evidence of our       
senses1 upon the deductions of          
mathematical knowledge4  ,mathematics   
are either pure or mixed4  ,pure        
mathematics are concerned only with     
abstract propositions1 and have nothing 
to do with the realities of nature4     
,there is no such thing in actual       
existence as a mathematical point1 line 
or surface4 ,there is no such thing as a
 circle or square4 ,but that is of no   
consequence4 ,we can define them in     
words1 and reason about them4 ,we can   
draw a diagram1 and suppose that line to
 be straight which is not really        
straight1 and that figure to be a circle

 which is not strictly a circle4 ,it is 
conceived therefore by the generality of
 observers1 that mathematics is the     
science of certainty4  ,but this is not 
strictly the case4 ,mathematics are like
 those abstract and imaginary existences
 about which they are conversant4 ,they 
may constitute in themselves1 and in the
 apprehension of an infallible being1 a 
science of certainty4 ,but they come to 
us mixed and incorporated with our      
imperfections4 ,our faculties are       
limited2 and we may be easily deceived1 
as to what it is that we see with       
transparent and unerring clearness1 and 
what it is that comes to us through a   
crooked medium1 refracting and          
distorting the rays of primitive truth4 
,we often seem clear1 when in reality   
the twilight of undistinguishing night  
has crept fast and far upon us4 ,in a   
train of deductions1 as in the steps of 
an arithmetical process1 an error may   
have insinuated itself imperceptibly at 
a very early stage1 rendering all the   

subsequent steps a wandering farther and
 farther from the unadulterated truth4  
,human mathematics1 so to speak1 like   
the length of life1 are subject to the  
doctrine of chances4 ,mathematics may be
 the science of certainty to celestial  
natures1 but not to man4  ,but1 if in   
the case of pure mathematics1 we are    
exposed to the chances of error and     
delusion1 it is much worse with mixed   
mathematics4 ,the moment we step out of 
the high region of abstraction1 and     
apply ourselves to what we call external
 nature1 we have forfeited that sacred  
character and immunity1 which we seemed 
entitled to boast1 so long as we        
remained inclosed in the sanctuary of   
unmingled truth4 ,as has already been   
said1 we know what passes in the theatre
 of the mind2 but we cannot be said     
absolutely to know any thing more4 ,in  
our speculations upon actual existences 
we are not only subject to the          
disadvantages which arise from the      
limited nature of our faculties1 and the

 errors which may insensibly creep upon 
us in the process4 ,we are further      
exposed to the operation of the         
unevennesses and irregularities that    
perpetually occur in external nature1   
the imperfection of our senses1 and of  
the instruments we construct to assist  
our observations1 and the discrepancy   
which we frequently detect between the  
actual nature of the things about us and
 our impressions respecting them4  ,this
 is obvious1 whenever we undertake to   
apply the processes of arithmetic to the
 realities of life4 ,arithmetic1        
unsubjected to the impulses of passion  
and the accidents of created nature1    
holds on its course2 but1 in the        
phenomena of the actual world1 time and 
chance happeneth to them all4  ,thus it 
is1 for example1 in the arithmetical and
 geometrical ratios1 set up in political
 economy by the celebrated ,mr4         
,malthus4 ,his numbers will go on       
smoothly enough1 #a1 #b1 #d1 #h1 #af1   
#cb1 as representing the principle of   

population among mankind1 and #a1 #b1   
#c1 #d1 #e1 #f1 the means of            
subsistence2 but restiff and uncomplying
 nature refuses to conform herself to   
his dicta4  ,dr4 ,price has calculated  
the produce of one penny1 put out at the
 commencement of the ,christian era to  
five per cent4 compound interest1 and   
finds that in the year #agia it would   
have increased to a greater sum than    
would be contained in three hundred     
millions of earths1 all solid gold4 ,but
 what has this to do with the world in  
which we live8 ,did ever any one put out
 his penny to interest in this fashion  
for eighteen hundred years8 ,and1 if he 
did1 where was the gold to be found1 to 
satisfy his demand8  ,morse1 in his     
,american ,gazetteer1 proceeding on the 
principles of ,malthus1 tells us that1  
if the city of ,new ,york goes on       
increasing for a century in a certain   
ratio1 it will by that time contain     
#e1beg1dic inhabitants4 ,but does any   
one1 for himself or his posterity1      

expect to see this realised8            
,blackstone1 in his ,commentaries on the
 ,laws of ,england1 has observed that1  
as every man has two ancestors in the   
first ascending degree1 and four in the 
second1 so in the twentieth degree he   
has more than a million1 and in the     
fortieth the square of that number1 or  
upwards of a million millions4 ,this    
statement therefore would have a greater
 tendency to prove that mankind in      
remote ages were numerous1 almost beyond
 the power of figures to represent1 than
 the opposite doctrine of ,malthus1 that
 they have a perpetual tendency to such 
increase as would infallibly bring down 
the most tremendous calamities on our   
posterity4  ,berkeley1 whom ,i have     
already referred to on another subject1 
and who is admitted to be one of our    
profoundest philosophers1 has written a 
treatise7#dh7 to prove1 that the        
mathematicians1 who object to the       
mysteries supposed to exist in revealed 
religion1 admit much greater mysteries1 

and even falshoods in science1 of which 
he alleges the doctrine of fluxions as  
an eminent example7#di74 ,he observes1  
that their conclusions are established  
by virtue of a twofold error1 and that  
these errors1 being in contrary         
directions1 are supposed to compensate  
each other1 the expounders of the       
doctrine thus arriving at what they call
 truth1 without being able to shew how1 
or by what means they have arrived at   
it4      7#dh7 ,the ,analyst4      7#di7
 ,life of ,berkeley1 prefixed to his    
,works4   ,it is a memorable and a      
curious speculation to reflect1 upon how
 slight grounds the doctrine of         
thousands and thousands of suns1        
multiplied without end1 and ranged all  
around us1 at immense distances from    
each other1 and attended by ten thousand
 times ten thousand worlds1 mentioned in
 the beginning of this ,essay1 is built4
 ,it may be all true4 ,but1 true or     
false1 it cannot be without its use to  
us1 carefully to survey the road upon   

which we are advancing1 the pier which  
human enterprise has dared to throw out 
into the vast ocean of ,cimmerian       
darkness4 ,we have constructed a        
pyramid1 which throws into unspeakable  
contempt the vestiges of ancient        
,egyptian industry3 but it stands upon  
its apex2 it trembles with every breeze2
 and momentarily threatens to overwhelm 
in its ruins the fearless undertakers   
that have set it up4  ,it gives us a    
mighty and sublime idea of the nature of
 man1 to think with what composure and  
confidence a succession of persons of   
the greatest genius have launched       
themselves in illimitable space1 with   
what invincible industry they have      
proceeded1 wasting the midnight oil1    
racking their faculties1 and almost     
wearing their organs to dust1 in        
measuring the distance of ,sirius and   
the other fixed stars1 the velocity of  
light1 and the myriads of intelligent   
beings formed for endless progression in
 perfection and felicity1 that people   

the numberless worlds of which they     
discourse4 ,the illustrious names of    
,copernicus1 ,galileo1 ,gassendi1       
,kepler1 ,halley and ,newton impress us 
with awe2 and1 if the astronomy they    
have opened before us is a romance1 it  
is at least a romance more seriously and
 perseveringly handled than any other in
 the annals of literature4  ,a vulgar   
and a plain man would unavoidably ask   
the astronomers1 ,how came you so       
familiarly acquainted with the magnitude
 and qualities of the heavenly bodies1 a
 great portion of which1 by your own    
account1 are millions of millions of    
miles removed from us8 ,but1 ,i believe1
 it is not the fashion of the present   
day to start so rude a question4 ,i have
 just turned over an article on         
,astronomy in the ,encyclopaedia        
,londinensis1 consisting of one hundred 
and thirty-three very closely printed   
quarto pages1 and in no corner of this  
article is any evidence so much as      
hinted at4 ,is it not enough8 ,newton   

and his compeers have said it4  ,the    
whole doctrine of astronomy rests upon  
trigonometry1 a branch of the science of
 mathematics which teaches us1 having   
two sides and one angle1 or two angles  
and one side1 of a triangle given us1 to
 construct the whole4 ,to apply this    
principle therefore to the heavenly     
bodies1 it is necessary for us to take  
two stations1 the more remote from each 
other the better1 from which our        
observations should be made4 ,for the   
sake of illustration we will suppose    
them to be taken at the extremes of the 
earth's diameter1 in other words1 nearly
 eight thousand miles apart from each   
other1 the thing itself having never    
been realised to that extent4 ,from each
 of these stations we will imagine a    
line to be drawn1 terminating in the    
sun4 ,now it seems easy1 by means of a  
quadrant1 to find the arch of a circle  
7in other words1 the angle7 included    
between these lines terminating in the  
sun1 and the base formed by a right line

 drawn from one of these stations to the
 other1 which in this case is the length
 of the earth's diameter4 ,i have       
therefore now the three particulars     
required to enable me to construct my   
triangle4 ,and1 according to the most   
approved astronomical observations      
hitherto made1 ,i have an isosceles     
triangle1 eight thousand miles broad at 
its base1 and ninety-five millions of   
miles in the length of each of the sides
 reaching from the base to the apex4    
,it is however obvious to the most      
indifferent observer1 that the more any 
triangle1 or other mathematical diagram1
 falls within the limits which our      
senses can conveniently embrace1 the    
more securely1 when our business is     
practical1 and our purpose to apply the 
result to external objects1 can we rely 
on the accuracy of our results4 ,in a   
case therefore like the present1 where  
the base of our isosceles triangle is to
 the other two sides as eight units to  
twelve thousand1 it is impossible not to

 perceive that it behoves us to be      
singularly diffident as to the          
conclusion at which we have arrived1 or 
rather it behoves us to take for granted
 that we are not unlikely to fall into  
the most important error4 ,we have      
satisfied ourselves that the sides of   
the triangle including the apex1 do not 
form an angle1 till they have arrived at
 the extent of ninety-five millions of  
miles4 ,how are we sure that they do    
then8 ,may not lines which have reached 
to so amazing a length without meeting1 
be in reality parallel lines8 ,if an    
angle is never formed1 there can be no  
result4 ,the whole question seems to be 
incommensurate to our faculties4  ,it   
being obvious that this was a very      
unsatisfactory scheme for arriving at   
the knowledge desired1 the celebrated   
,halley suggested another method1 in the
 year #agaf1 by an observation to be    
taken at the time of the transit of     
,venus over the sun7#ej74      7#ej7    
,philosophical ,transactions1 ,vol4     

,,xxix1 p4 #ded4   ,it was supposed that
 we were already pretty accurately      
acquainted with the distance of the moon
 from the earth1 it being so much nearer
 to us1 by observing its parallax1 or   
the difference of its place in the      
heavens as seen from the surface of the 
earth1 from that in which it would      
appear if seen from its centre7#ea74    
,but the parallax of the sun is so      
exceedingly small1 as scarcely to afford
 the basis of a mathematical            
calculation7#eb74 ,the parallax of      
,venus is however almost four times as  
great as that of the sun2 and there must
 therefore be a very sensible difference
 between the times in which ,venus may  
be seen passing over the sun from       
different parts of the earth4 ,it was on
 this account apprehended1 that the     
parallax of the sun1 by means of        
observations taken from different places
 at the time of the transit of ,venus in
 #agfa and #agfi1 might be ascertained  
with a great degree of precision7#ec74  

7#ea7 ,bonnycastle1 ,astronomy1 #gth    
edition1 p4 #bfb1 et seq4      7#eb7    
,ibid1 p4 #bfh4      7#ec7 ,phil4       
,transactions1 ,vol4 ,,xxix1 p4 #deg4   
,but the imperfectness of our           
instruments and means of observation    
have no small tendency to baffle the    
ambition of man in these curious        
investigations4  ,the true quantity of  
the moon's parallax1 says ,bonnycastle1 
cannot be accurately determined by the  
methods ordinarily resorted to1 on      
account of the varying declination of   
the moon1 and the inconstancy of the    
horizontal refractions1 which are       
perpetually changing according to the   
state the atmosphere is in at the time4 
,for the moon continues but for a short 
time in the equinoctial1 and the        
refraction at a mean rate elevates her  
apparent place near the horizon1 half as
 much as her parallax depresses it7#ed74
      7#ed7 ,astronomy1 p4 #bfe4   ,it  
is well known that the parallax of the  
sun can never exceed nine seconds1 or   

the four-hundredth part of a            
degree7#ee74 ,observations1 says        
,halley1 made upon the vibrations of a  
pendulum1 to determine these exceedingly
 small angles1 are not sufficiently     
accurate to be depended upon2 for by    
this method of ascertaining the         
parallax1 it will sometimes come out to 
be nothing1 or even negative2 that is1  
the distance will either be infinite1 or
 greater than infinite1 which is absurd4
 ,and1 to confess the truth1 it is      
hardly possible for a person to         
distinguish seconds with certainty by   
any instruments1 however skilfully they 
may be made2 and therefore it is not to 
be wondered at1 that the excessive      
nicety of this matter should have eluded
 the many ingenious endeavours of the   
most able opetators47#ef74      7#ee7   
,ibid1 p4 #bfh4      7#ef7 ,phil4       
,transactions1 ,vol4 ,,xxix1 p4 #def4   
,such are the difficulties that beset   
the subject on every side4 ,it is for   
the impartial and dispassionate         

observers who have mastered all the     
subtleties of the science1 if such can  
be found1 to determine whether the      
remedies that have been resorted to to  
obviate the above inaccuracies and their
 causes1 have fulfilled their end1 and  
are not exposed to similar errors4 ,but 
it would be vain to expect the persons1 
who have scorned delights1 and lived    
laborious days to possess themselves of 
the mysteries of astronomy1 should be   
impartial and dispassionate1 or be      
disposed to confess1 even to their own  
minds1 that their researches were       
useless1 and their labours ended in     
nothing4  ,it is further worthy of our  
attention1 that the instruments with    
which we measure the distance of the    
earth from the sun and the planets1 are 
the very instruments which have been    
pronounced upon as incompetent in       
measuring the heights of mountains7#eg74
 ,in the latter case therefore we have  
substituted a different mode for        
arriving at the truth1 which is supposed

 to be attended with greater precision3 
but we have no substitute to which we   
can resort1 to correct the mistakes into
 which we may fall respecting the       
heavenly bodies4      7#eg7 ,see above1 
,essay ,,xxi4   ,the result of the      
uncertainty which adheres to all        
astronomical observations is such as    
might have been expected4 ,common       
readers are only informed of the latest 
adjustment of the question1 and are     
therefore unavoidably led to believe    
that the distance of the sun from the   
earth1 ever since astronomy became      
entitled to the name of a science1 has  
by universal consent been recognised as 
ninety-five millions of miles1 or1 as   
near as may be1 twenty-four thousand    
semi-diameters of the earth4 ,but how   
does the case really stand8 ,copernicus 
and ,tycho ,brahe held the distance to  
be twelve hundred semi-diameters2       
,kepler1 who is received to have been   
perhaps the greatest astronomer that any
 age has produced1 puts it down as three

 thousand five hundred semi-diameters2  
since his time1 ,riccioli as seven      
thousand2 ,hevelius as five thousand two
 hundred and fifty7#eh72 some later     
astronomers1 mentioned by ,halley1 as   
fourteen thousand2 and ,halley himself  
as sixteen thousand five hundred7#ei74  
7#eh7 ,they were about thirty and forty 
years younger than ,kepler respectively4
      7#ei7 ,halley1 apud ,philosophical
 ,transactions1 ,vol4 ,,xxix1 p4 #dee4  
,the doctrine of fluxions is likewise   
called in by the astronomers in their   
attempts to ascertain the distance and  
magnitude of the different celestial    
bodies which compose the solar system2  
and in this way their conclusions become
 subject to all the difficulties which  
,berkeley has alleged against that      
doctrine4  ,kepler has also supplied us 
with another mode of arriving at the    
distance and size of the sun and the    
planets3 he has hazarded a conjecture1  
that the squares of the times of the    
revolution of the earth and the other   

planets are in proportion to the cubes  
of their distances from the sun1 their  
common centre2 and1 as by observation we
 can arrive with tolerable certainty at 
a knowledge of the times of their       
revolutions1 we may from hence proceed  
to the other matters we are desirous to 
ascertain4 ,and that which ,kepler      
seemed1 as by a divine inspiration1 to  
hazard in the way of conjecture1 ,newton
 professes to have demonstratively      
established4 ,but the demonstration of  
,newton has not been considered as      
satisfactory by all men of science since
 his time4  ,thus far however we proceed
 as we may1 respecting our propositions 
on the subject of the solar system4     
,but1 beyond this1 all science1 real or 
pretended1 deserts us4 ,we have no      
method for measuring angles1 which can  
be applied to the fixed stars2 and we   
know nothing of any revolutions they    
perform4 ,all here therefore seems      
gratuitous3 we reason from certain      
alleged analogies2 and we can do no     

more4  ,huygens endeavoured to ascertain
 something on the subject1 by making the
 aperture of a telescope so small1 that 
the sun should appear through it no     
larger than ,sirius1 which he found to  
be only in the proportion of #a to      
#bg1ffd times his diameter1 as seen by  
the naked eye4 ,hence1 supposing ,sirius
 to be a globe of the same magnitude as 
the sun1 it must be #bg1ffd times as    
distant from us as the sun1 in other    
words1 at a distance so considerable as 
to equal #cde million diameters of the  
earth7#fj74 ,every one must feel on how 
slender a thread this conclusion is     
suspended4      7#fj7 ,encyclopaedia    
,londinensis1 ,vol4 #aa1 p4 #djg4  ,and 
yet1 from this small postulate1 the     
astronomers proceed to deduce the most  
astounding conclusions4 ,they tell us1  
that the distance of the nearest fixed  
star from the earth is at least         
#g1fjj1jjj1jjj1jjj miles1 and of another
 they name1 not less than #ch millions  
of millions of miles4 ,a cannon-ball    

therefore1 proceeding at the rate of    
about twenty miles in a minute would be 
#gfj1jjj years in passing from us to the
 nearest fixed star1 and #c1hjj1jjj in  
passing to the second star of which we  
speak4 ,huygens accordingly concluded1  
that it was not impossible1 that there  
might be stars at such inconceivable    
distances from us1 that their light has 
not yet reached the earth since its     
creation7#fa74      7#fa7 ,ibid1 p4     
#djh4   ,the received system of the     
universe1 founded upon these so called  
discoveries1 is that each of the stars  
is a sun1 having planets and comets     
revolving round it1 as our sun has the  
earth and other planets revolving round 
him4 ,it has been found also by the     
successive observations of astronomers1 
that a star now and then is totally     
lost1 and that a new star makes its     
appearance which had never been remarked
 before3 and this they explain into the 
creation of a new system from time to   
time by the ,almighty author of the     

universe1 and the destruction of an old 
system worn out with age7#fb74 ,we must 
also remember the power of attraction   
every where diffused through infinite   
space1 by means of which1 as ,herschel  
assures us1 in great length of time a   
nebula1 or cluster of stars1 may be     
formed1 while the projectile force they 
received in the beginning may prevent   
them from all coming together1 at least 
for millions of ages4 ,some of these    
nebulae1 he adds1 cannot well be        
supposed to be at a less distance from  
us than six or eight thousand times the 
distance of ,sirius7#fc74 ,kepler       
however denies that each star1 of those 
which distinctly present themselves to  
our sight1 can have its system of       
planets as our sun has1 and considers   
them as all fixed in the same surface or
 sphere2 since1 if one of them were     
twice or thrice as remote as another1 it
 would1 supposing their real magnitudes 
to be equal1 appear to be twice or      
thrice as small1 whereas there is not in

 their apparent magnitudes the slightest
 difference7#fd74      7#fb7 ,encycl4   
,lond4 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #daa4      7#fc7  
,ibid1 p4 #cdh4      7#fd7 ,ibid1 p4    
#daa4   ,certainly the astronomers are a
 very fortunate and privileged race of  
men1 who talk to us in this oracular way
 of the unseen things of ,god from the  
creation of the world1 hanging up their 
conclusions upon invisible hooks1 while 
the rest of mankind sit listening       
gravely to their responses1 and         
unreservedly acknowledging that their   
science is the most sublime1 the most   
interesting1 and the most useful of all 
the sciences cultivated by man7#fe74    
7#fe7 ,ferguson1 ,astronomy1 ,section   
#a4   ,we have a sensation1 which we    
call the sensation of distance4 ,it     
comes to us from our sight and our other
 senses4 ,it does not come immediately  
by the organ of sight4 ,it has been     
proved1 that the objects we see1        
previously to the comparison and        
correction of the reports of the organ  

of sight with those of the other senses1
 do not suggest to us the idea of       
distance1 but that on the contrary      
whatever we see seems to touch the eye1 
even as the objects of the sense of     
feeling touch the skin4  ,but1 in       
proportion as we compare the impressions
 made upon our organs of sight with the 
impressions made on the other senses1 we
 come gradually to connect with the     
objects we see the idea of distance4 ,i 
put out my hand1 and find at first that 
an object of my sense of sight is not   
within the reach of my hand4 ,i put out 
my hand farther1 or by walking advance  
my body in the direction of the object1 
and ,i am enabled to reach it4 ,from    
smaller experiments ,i proceed to       
greater4 ,i walk towards a tree or a    
building1 the figure of which presents  
itself to my eye1 but which ,i find upon
 trial to have been far from me4 ,i     
travel towards a place that ,i cannot   
see1 but which ,i am told lies in a     
certain direction4 ,i arrive at the     

place4 ,it is thus1 that by repeated    
experiments ,i acquire the idea of      
remote distances4  ,to confine ourselves
 however to the question of objects1    
which without change of place ,i can    
discover by the sense of sight4 ,i can  
see a town1 a tower1 a mountain at a    
considerable distance4 ,let us suppose  
that the limit of my sight1 so far as   
relates to objects on the earth1 is one 
hundred miles4 ,i can travel towards    
such an object1 and thus ascertain by   
means of my other senses what is its    
real distance4 ,i can also employ       
certain instruments1 invented by man1 to
 measure heights1 suppose of a tower1   
and1 by experiments made in ways        
independent of these instruments1 verify
 or otherwise the report of these       
instruments4  ,the height of the        
,monument of ,london is something more  
than two hundred feet4 ,other           
elevations1 the produce of human labour1
 are considerably higher4 ,it is in the 
nature of the mind1 that we conclude    

from the observation that we have       
verified1 to the accuracy of another1   
bearing a striking analogy to the       
former1 that we have not verified4 ,but 
analogy has its limits4 ,is it of       
irresistible certainty1 or is it in fact
 to be considered as approaching to     
certainty1 because we have verified an  
observation extending to several hundred
 feet1 that an observation extending to 
ninety-five millions of miles1 or to the
 incredible distances of which ,herschel
 so familiarly talks1 is to be treated  
as a fact1 or laid down as a principle  
in science8 ,is it reasonable to        
consider two propositions as analogous1 
when the thing affirmed in the one is in
 dimension many million times as great  
as the thing affirmed in the other8 ,the
 experience we have had as to the truth 
of the smaller1 does it authorise us to 
consider the larger as unquestionable8  
,that which ,i see with a bay of the sea
 or a wide river between1 though it may 
appear very like something with which ,i

 am familiar at home1 do ,i immediately 
affirm it to be of the same species and 
nature1 or do ,i not regard it with a   
certain degree of scepticism1 especially
 if1 along with the resemblance in some 
points1 it differs essentially1 as for  
example in magnitude1 in other points8  
,we have a sensation1 and we enquire    
into its cause4 ,this is always a       
question of some uncertainty4 ,is its   
cause something of absolute and         
substantive existence without me1 or is 
it not8 ,is its cause something of the  
very same nature1 as the thing that gave
 me a similar sensation in a matter of  
comparatively a pigmy and diminutive    
extension8  ,all these questions an     
untrained and inquisitive mind will ask 
itself in the propositions of astronomy4
 ,we must believe or not1 as we think   
proper or reasonable4 ,we have no way of
 verifying the propositions by the trial
 of our senses4 ,there they lie1 to be  
received by us in the construction that 
first suggests itself to us1 or not4    

,they are something like an agreeable   
imagination or fiction3 and a sober     
observer1 in cold blood1 will be        
disposed deliberately to weigh both     
sides of the question1 and to judge     
whether the probability lies in favour  
of the actual affirmation of the        
millions of millions of miles1 and the  
other incredible propositions of the    
travelling of light1 and the rest1 which
 even the most cautious and sceptical of
 the retainers of modern astronomy1 find
 themselves compelled to receive4  ,but 
,i shall be told1 that the results of   
our observations of the distances of the
 heavenly bodies are unvaried4 ,we have 
measured the distances and other        
phenomena of the sun1 the moon1         
,mercury1 ,venus1 ,mars1 ,jupiter1      
,saturn1 and their satellites1 and they 
all fall into a grand system1 so as to  
convey to every unprejudiced mind the   
conviction that this system is the truth
 itself4 ,if we look at them day after  
day1 and year after year1 we see them   

for ever the same1 and performing the   
same divine harmony4 ,successive        
astronomers in different ages and       
countries have observed the celestial   
orbs1 and swept the heavens1 and for    
ever bring us back the same story of the
 number1 the dimensions1 the distances1 
and the arrangement of the heavenly     
bodies which form the subject of        
astronomical science4  ,this we have    
seen indeed not to be exactly the case4 
,but1 if it were1 it would go a very    
little way towards proving the point it 
was brought to prove4 ,it would shew    
that1 the sensations and results being  
similar1 the causes of those results    
must be similar to each other1 but it   
would not shew that the causes were     
similar to the sensations produced4     
,thus1 in the sensations which belong to
 taste1 smell1 sound1 colour1 and to    
those of heat and cold1 there is all the
 uniformity which would arise1 when the 
real external causes bore the most exact
 similitude to the perceptions they     

generate2 and yet it is now universally 
confessed that tastes1 scents1 sounds1  
colours1 and heat and cold do not exist 
out of ourselves4 ,all that we are      
entitled therefore to conclude as to the
 magnitudes and distances of the        
heavenly bodies1 is1 that the causes of 
our sensations and perceptions1 whatever
 they are1 are not less uniform than the
 sensations and perceptions themselves4 
,it is further alleged1 that we         
calculate eclipses1 and register the    
various phenomena of the heavenly       
bodies4 ,thales predicted an eclipse of 
the sun1 which took place nearly six    
hundred years before the ,christian era4
 ,the ,babylonians1 the ,persians1 the  
,hindoos1 and the ,chinese early turned 
their attention to astronomy4 ,many of  
their observations were accurately      
recorded2 and their tables extend to a  
period of three thousand years before   
the birth of ,christ4 ,does not all this
 strongly argue the solidity of the     
science to which they belong8 ,who1     

after this1 will have the presumption to
 question1 that the men who profess     
astronomy proceed on real grounds1 and  
have a profound knowledge of these      
things1 which at first sight might      
appear to be set at a distance so far   
removed from our ken8  ,the answer to   
this is easy4 ,i believe in all the     
astronomy that was believed by ,thales4 
,i do not question the statements       
relative to the heavenly bodies that    
were delivered by the wise men of the   
,east4 ,but the supposed discoveries    
that were made in the eighteenth1 and   
even in the latter part of the          
seventeenth century1 purporting to      
ascertain the precise distance of the   
sun1 the planets1 and even of the fixed 
stars1 are matters entirely distinct    
from this4  ,among the earliest         
astronomers of ,greece were ,thales1    
,anaximander1 ,anaximenes and           
,anaxagoras4 ,thales1 we are told1 held 
that the earth is a sphere or globe1    
,anaximenes that it is like a round1    

flat table2 ,anaximander that the sun is
 like a chariot-wheel1 and is           
twenty-eight times larger than the      
earth4 ,anaxagoras was put in prison for
 affirming that the sun was by many     
degrees larger than the whole           
,peloponnesus7#ff74 ,kepler is of       
opinion that all the stars are at an    
equal distance from us1 and are fixed in
 the same surface or sphere4      7#ff7 
,plutarch1 ,de ,placitis ,philosophorum4
 ,diogenes ,laertius4   ,in reality the 
observations and the facts of astronomy 
do not depend either upon the magnitudes
 or the distances of the heavenly       
bodies4 ,they proceed in the first place
 upon what may lie seen with the naked  
eye4 ,they require an accurate and      
persevering attention4 ,they may be     
assisted by telescopes4 ,but they relate
 only to the sun and the planets4 ,we   
are bound to ascertain1 as nearly as    
possible1 the orbits described by the   
different bodies in the solar system3   
but this has still nothing to do1       

strictly speaking1 with their magnitudes
 or distances4 ,it is required that we  
should know them in their relations to  
each other2 but it is no preliminary of 
just1 of practical1 it might almost be  
said1 of liberal science1 that we should
 know any thing of them absolutely4     
,the unlimited ambition of the nature of
 man has discovered itself in nothing   
more than this1 the amazing             
superstructure which the votaries of    
contemplation within the last two       
hundred years have built upon the simple
 astronomy of the ancients4 ,having     
begun to compute the distances of miles 
by millions1 it appears clearly that    
nothing can arrest the more than        
eagle-flight of the human mind4 ,the    
distance of the nearest fixed star from 
the earth1 we are informed1 is at least 
#g1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj miles1 and of another
 which the astronomers name1 not less   
than #ch millions of millions of miles4 
,the particles of light are said to     
travel #aic1idj miles in every second1  

which is above a million times swifter  
than the progress of a cannon-ball7#fg74
 ,and ,herschel has concluded1 that the 
light issuing from the faintest nebulae 
he has discovered1 must have been at    
this rate two millions of years in      
reaching the ,barth7#fh74      7#fg7    
,ferguson1 ,section #baf4 ,light moves1 
says ,brewster1 ,optics1 p4 #b1 from one
 pole of the earth to the other in the  
#bdth part of a second3 a velocity which
 surpasses all comprehension4           
7#fh7 ,brinkley1 ,astronomy1 p4 #acj4   
,,section ,,iii4  ,the next process of  
the modern astronomer is to affirm the  
innumerable orbs around us1 discovered  
with the naked eye1 or with which we are
 made acquainted by the aid of          
telescopes1 to be all stocked with      
rational inhabitants4 ,the argument for 
this is1 that an all-wise and omnipotent
 creator could never have produced such 
immense bodies1 dispersed through       
infinite space1 for any meaner purpose1 
than that of peopling them with         

intelligent beings1 formed for endless  
progression in perfection and           
felicity7#fi74      7#fi7 ,see above1   
,essay ,,xxi4   ,now it appears to me1  
that1 in these assertions1 the modern   
astronomers are taking upon themselves  
somewhat too boldly1 to expound the     
counsels of that mysterious power1 to   
which the universe is indebted for its  
arrangement and order4  ,we know nothing
 of ,god but from his works4 ,certain   
speculative men have adventured to      
reason upon the source of all the system
 and the wonders that we behold1 a      
priori1 and1 having found that the      
creator is all powerful1 all wise1 and  
of infinite goodness1 according to their
 ideas of power1 wisdom and goodness1   
have from thence proceeded to draw their
 inferences1 and to shew us in what     
manner the works of his hands are       
arranged and conducted by him4 ,this no 
doubt they have done with the purest    
intentions in the world2 but it is not  
certain1 that their discretion has      

equalled the boldness of their          
undertaking4  ,the world that we        
inhabit1 this little globe of earth1 is 
to us an infinite mystery4 ,human       
imagination is unable to conceive any   
thing more consummate than the great    
outline of things below4 ,the trees and 
the skies1 the mountains and the seas1  
the rivers and the springs1 appear as if
 the design had been to realise the idea
 of paradise4 ,the freshness of the air1
 the silvery light of day1 the          
magnificence of the clouds1 the gorgeous
 and soothing colouring of the world1   
the profusion and exquisiteness of the  
fruits and flowers of the earth1 are as 
if nothing but joy and delicious        
sensations had been intended for us4    
,when we ascend to the animal creation1 
the scene is still more admirable and   
transporting4 ,the birds and the beasts1
 the insects that skim the air1 and the 
fishes that live in the great deep1 are 
a magazine of wonders1 that we may study
 for ever1 without fear of arriving at  

the end of their excellence4 ,last of   
all1 comes the crown of the creation1   
man1 formed with looks erect1 to        
commerce with the skies4 ,what a        
masterpiece of workmanship is his form1 
while the beauty and intelligence of    
,gods seems to manifest itself in his   
countenance6 ,look at that most         
consummate of all implements1 the human 
hand2 think of his understanding1 how   
composed and penetrating2 of the wealth 
of his imagination2 of the resplendent  
virtues he is qualified to display6 ,how
 wonderful are thy works1 ,oh ,god2 in  
wisdom hast thou created them all6  ,but
 there are other parts of the system in 
which we live1 which do not seem to     
correspond with those already           
enumerated4 ,before we proceed to people
 infinite space1 it would be as well1 if
 we surveyed the surface of the earth we
 inhabit4 ,what vast deserts do we find 
in it2 what immense tracks of burning   
sands6 ,one half of the globe is perhaps
 irreclaimable to the use of man4 ,then 

let us think of earthquakes and         
tempests1 of wasting hurricanes1 and the
 number of vessels1 freighted with human
 beings1 that are yearly buried in the  
caverns of the ocean4 ,let us call to   
mind in man1 the prime ornament of the  
creation1 all the diseases to which his 
frame is subject1    ,convulsions1      
epilepsies1 fierce catarrhs1            
,intestine stone and ulcer1 colic pangs1
   ,demoniac frenzy1 moping melancholy1 
,and moon-struck madness1 pining        
atrophy1   ,marasmus1 and wide-wasting  
pestilence1   ,dropsies1 and asthmas1   
and joint-racking rheums4  ,the very    
idea of our killing1 and subsisting upon
 the flesh of animals1 surely somewhat  
jars with our conceptions of infinite   
benevolence4  ,but1 when we look at the 
political history of man1 the case is   
infinitely worse4 ,this too often seems 
one tissue of misery and vice4 ,war1    
conquest1 oppression1 tyranny1 slavery1 
insurrections1 massacres1 cruel         
punishments1 degrading corporal         

infliction1 and the extinction of life  
under the forms of law1 are to be found 
in almost every page4 ,it is as if an   
evil demon were let loose upon us1 and  
whole nations1 from one decad of years  
to another1 were struck with the most   
pernicious madness4 ,certain reasoners  
tell us that this is owing to the       
freedom of will1 without which man could
 not exist4 ,but here we are presented  
with an alternative1 from which it is   
impossible for human understanding to   
escape4 ,either ,god1 according to our  
ideas of benevolence1 would remove evil 
out of the world1 and cannot2 or he can1
 and will not4 ,if he has the will and  
not the power1 this argues weakness2 if 
he has the power and not the will1 this 
seems to be malevolence4  ,let us       
descend from the great stage of the     
nations1 and look into the obscurities  
of private misery4 ,which of us is      
happy8 ,what bitter springs of misery   
overflow the human heart1 and are borne 
by us in silence6 ,what cruel           

disappointments beset us6 ,to what      
struggles are we doomed1 while we       
struggle often in vain6 ,the human heart
 seems framed1 as if to be the capacious
 receptacle of all imaginable sorrows4  
,the human frame seems constructed1 as  
if all its fibres were prepared to      
sustain varieties of torment4 ,in the   
sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread1 
till thou return to the earth4 ,but how 
often does that sweat prove ineffective6
 ,there are men of whom sorrow seems to 
be the destiny1 from which they can     
never escape4 ,there are hearts1 into   
which by their constitution it appears  
as if serenity and content could never  
enter1 but which are given up to all the
 furious passions1 or are for ever the  
prey of repining and depression4    ,ah1
 little think the gay1 licentious proud1
   ,whom pleasure1 power and affluence  
surround1   ,how many pine in want6     
,how many shrink   ,into the sordid hut1
 how many drink   ,the cup of grief1 and
 eat the bitter bread   ,of misery6     

,and1 which aggravates the evil1 almost 
all the worst vices1 the most           
unprincipled acts1 and the darkest      
passions of the human mind1 are bred out
 of poverty and distress4 ,satan1 in the
 ,book of ,job1 says to the ,almighty1  
,thou hast blessed the work of thy      
servant1 and his substance is increased 
in the land4 ,but put forth thy hand    
now1 and take away all that he hath2 and
 he will curse thee to thy face4 ,the   
prayer of ,agar runs1 ,feed me with food
 convenient for me2 lest ,i be poor1 and
 steal1 and take the name of my ,god in 
vain4  ,it is with a deep knowledge of  
the scenes of life1 that the prophet    
pronounces1 ,my thoughts are not your   
thoughts2 neither are your ways my ways1
 saith the ,lord4  ,all reflecting      
persons1 who have surveyed the state of 
the world in which we live1 have been   
struck with the contrarieties of        
sublunary things2 and many hypotheses   
have been invented to solve the enigma4 
,some have maintained the doctrine of   

two principles1 ,oromasdes and          
,arimanius1 the genius of good and of   
evil1 who are perpetually contending    
with each other which shall have the    
greatest sway in the fortunes of the    
world1 and each alternately acquiring   
the upper hand4 ,others have inculcated 
the theory of the fall of man1 that ,god
 at first made all things beautiful and 
good1 but that man has incurred his     
displeasure1 and been turned out of the 
paradise for which he was destined4     
,hence1 they say1 has arisen the        
corruption of our nature4 ,there is none
 that cloth good1 no1 not one4 ,that    
every mouth may be stopped1 and all the 
world become guilty before ,god4 ,but   
the solution that has been most         
generally adopted1 particularly in later
 days1 is that of a future state of     
retribution1 in which all the           
inequalities of our present condition   
shall be removed1 the tears of the      
unfortunate and the sufferer shall be   
wiped from their eyes1 and their agonies

 and miseries compensated4 ,this1 in    
other words1 independently of the light 
of revelation1 is to infer infinite     
wisdom and benevolence from what we see1
 and then1 finding the actual phenomena 
not to correspond with our theories1 to 
invent something of which we have no    
knowledge1 to supply the deficiency4    
,the astronomer however proceeds from   
what we see of the globe of earth1 to   
fashion other worlds of which we have no
 direct knowledge4 ,finding that there  
is no part of the soil of the earth into
 which our wanderings can penetrate1    
that is not turned to the account of    
rational and happy beings1 creatures    
capable of knowing and adoring their    
creator1 that nature does nothing in    
vain1 and that the world is full of the 
evidences of his unmingled beneficence1 
according to our narrow and imperfect   
ideas of beneficence1 7for such ought to
 be our premises7 we proceed to         
construct millions of worlds upon the   
plan we have imagined4 ,the earth is a  

globe1 the planets are globes1 and      
several of them larger than our earth3  
the earth has a moon2 several of the    
planets have satellites3 the globe we   
dwell in moves in an orbit round the    
sun2 so do the planets3 upon these      
premises1 and no more1 we hold ourselves
 authorised to affirm that they contain 
myriads of intelligent beings1 formed   
for endless progression in perfection   
and felicity4 ,having gone thus far1 we 
next find that the fixed stars bear a   
certain resemblance to the sun2 and1 as 
the sun has a number of planets         
attendant on him1 so1 we say1 has each  
of the fixed stars1 composing all       
together ten thousand times ten thousand
 habitable worlds4  ,all this is well1  
so long as we view it as a bold and     
ingenious conjecture4 ,on any other     
subject it would be so regarded2 and we 
should consider it as reserved for the  
amusement and gratification of a        
fanciful visionary in the hour1 when he 
gives up the reins to his imagination4  

,but1 backed as it is by a complexity of
 geometrical right lines and curves1 and
 handed forth to us in large quartos1   
stuffed with calculations1 it           
experiences a very different fortune4   
,we are told that1 by the knowledge we  
derive from astronomy1 our faculties are
 enlarged1 our minds exalted1 and our   
understandings clearly convinced1 and   
affected with the conviction1 of the    
existence1 wisdom1 power1 goodness1     
immutability and superintendency of the 
supreme being2 so that1 without an      
hyperbole1 'an undevout astronomer is   
mad7e77#gj74'      7#gj7 ,ferguson1     
,astronomy1 ,section ,i4   ,it is       
singular1 how deeply ,i was impressed   
with this representation1 while ,i was a
 schoolboy1 and was so led to propose a 
difficulty to the wife of the master4 ,i
 said1 ,i find that we have millions of 
worlds round us peopled with rational   
creatures4 ,i know not that we have any 
decisive reason for supposing these     
creatures more exalted1 than the        

wonderful species of which we are       
individuals4 ,we are imperfect2 they are
 imperfect4 ,we fell2 it is reasonable  
to suppose that they have fallen also4  
,it became necessary for the second     
person in the trinity to take upon him  
our nature1 and by suffering for our    
sins to appease the wrath of his father4
 ,i am unwilling to believe that he has 
less commiseration for the inhabitants  
of other planets4 ,but in that case it  
may be supposed that since the creation 
he has been making a circuit of the     
planets1 and dying on the cross for the 
sins of rational creatures in           
uninterrupted succession4 ,the lady was 
wiser than ,i1 admonished me of the     
danger of being over-inquisitive1 and   
said we should act more discreetly in   
leaving those questions to the judgment 
of the ,almighty4  ,but thus far we have
 reasoned only on one side of the       
question4 ,our pious sentiments have led
 us to magnify the ,lord in all his     
works1 and1 however imperfect the       

analogy1 and however obscure the        
conception we can form of the myriads of
 rational creatures1 all of them no     
doubt infinitely varied in their nature1
 their structure and faculties1 yet to  
view the whole scheme with an undoubting
 persuasion of its truth4 ,it is however
 somewhat in opposition to the ideas of 
piety formed by our less adventurous    
ancestors1 that we should usurp the     
throne of ,god1       ,snatch from his  
hand the balance and the rod1  and1 by  
means of our telescopes and our         
calculations1 penetrate into mysteries  
not originally intended for us4         
,according to the received ,mosaic      
chronology we are now in the five       
thousand eight hundred and thirty-fifth 
year from the creation3 the ,samaritan  
version adds to this date4 ,it is       
therefore scarcely in the spirit of a   
,christian1 that ,herschel talks to us  
of a light1 which must have been two    
millions of years in reaching the earth4
  ,moses describes the operations of the

 ,almighty1 in one of the six days      
devoted to the work of creation1 as     
being to place lights in the firmament  
of heaven1 to divide the day from the   
night1 to be for signs and for seasons1 
and for days and years1 and to give     
light upon the earth2 two great lights1 
the greater to rule the day1 and the    
lesser the night2 and the stars also4   
,and ,christ1 prophesying what is to    
happen in the latter days1 says1 ,the   
sun shall be darkened1 and the moon     
shall not give her light1 and the stars 
shall fall from heaven4 ,whatever       
therefore be the piety of the persons1  
who talk to us of ten thousand times ten
 thousand worlds1 all peopled with      
rational creatures1 it certainly is not 
a piety in precise accordance with the  
,christian scriptures4   ,,section ,,iv4
 ,it is also no more than just1 that we 
should bear in mind the apparent fitness
 or otherwise1 of these bodies1 so far  
as we are acquainted with them1 for the 
dwelling-place of rational creatures4   

,not to mention the probable extreme    
coldness of ,jupiter and ,saturn1 the   
heat of the sunbeams in the planet      
,mercury is understood to be such as    
that water would unavoidably boil and be
 carried away7#ga71 and we can scarcely 
imagine any living substance that would 
not be dissolved and dispersed in such  
an atmosphere4 ,the moon1 of which1 as  
being so much nearer to us1 we may      
naturally be supposed to know most1 we  
are told by the astronomers has no water
 and no atmosphere1 or1 if any1 such an 
atmosphere as would not sustain clouds  
and ascending vapour4 ,to our eye1 as   
seen through the telescope1 it appears  
like a metallic substance1 which has    
been burned by fire1 and so reduced into
 the ruined and ragged condition in     
which we seem to behold it4 ,the sun    
appears to be still less an appropriate 
habitation for rational1 or for living  
creatures1 than any of the planets4 ,the
 comets1 which describe an orbit so     
exceedingly eccentric1 and are subject  

to all the excessive vicissitudes of    
heat and cold1 are1 we are told1        
admirably adapted for a scene of        
eternal1 or of lengthened punishment for
 those who have acquitted themselves ill
 in a previous state of probation4      
,buffon is of opinion1 that all the     
planets in the solar system were once so
 many portions of our great luminary1   
struck off from the sun by the blow of a
 comet1 and so having received a        
projectile impulse calculated to carry  
them forward in a right line1 at the    
same time that the power of attraction  
counteracts this impulse1 and gives them
 that compound principle of motion which
 retains them in an orbicular course4   
,in this sense it may be said that all  
the planets were suns2 while on the     
contrary ,herschel pronounces1 that the 
sun itself is a planet1 an opake body1  
richly stored with inhabitants7#gb74    
7#ga7 ,encyclopaedia ,londinensis1 ,vol4
 ,,ii1 p4 #cee4      7#gb7              
,philosophical ,transactions for #agie1 

p4 #fh4   ,the modern astronomers go on 
to account to us for the total          
disappearance of a star in certain      
cases1 which1 they say1 may be in       
reality the destruction of a system1    
such as that of our sun and its         
attendant planets1 while the appearance 
of a new star may1 in like manner1 be   
the occasional creation of a new system 
of planets4 ,we ought perhaps1 says     
,herschel1 to look upon certain clusters
 of stars1 and the destruction of a star
 now and then in some thousands of ages1
 as the very means by which the whole is
 preserved and renewed4 ,these clusters 
may be the laboratories of the universe1
 wherein the most salutary remedies for 
the decay of the whole are              
prepared7#gc74      7#gc7 ,philosophical
 ,transactions for #aghe1 p4 #bag4      
,all this must appear to a sober mind1  
unbitten by the rage which grows out of 
the heat of these new discoverers1 to be
 nothing less than astronomy run mad4   
,this occasional creation of new systems

 and worlds1 is in little accordance    
with the ,christian scriptures1 or1 ,i  
believe1 with any sober speculation upon
 the attributes of the creator4 ,the    
astronomer seizes upon some hint so fine
 as scarcely by any ingenuity to be     
arrested1 immediately launches forth    
into infinite space1 and in an instant  
returns1 and presents us with millions  
of worlds1 each of them peopled with ten
 thousand times ten thousand            
inhabitants4  ,we spoke a while since of
 the apparent unfitness of many of the  
heavenly bodies for the reception of    
living inhabitants4 ,but for all this   
these discoverers have a remedy4 ,they  
remind us how unlike these inhabitants  
may be to ourselves1 having other organs
 than ours1 and being able to live in a 
very different temperature4 ,the great  
heat in the planet ,mercury is no       
argument against its being inhabited2   
since the ,almighty could as easily suit
 the bodies and constitutions of its    
inhabitants to the heat of their        

dwelling1 as he has done ours to the    
temperature of our earth4 ,and it is    
very probable that the people there have
 such an opinion of us1 as we have of   
the inhabitants of ,jupiter and ,saturn2
 namely1 that we must be intolerably    
cold1 and have very little light at so  
great a distance from the sun4  ,these  
are the remarks of ,ferguson7#gd74 ,one 
of our latest astronomers expresses     
himself to the same purpose4      7#gd7 
,astronomy1 ,section #bb4   ,we have no 
argument against the planets being      
inhabited by rational beings1 and       
consequently by witnesses of the        
creator's power1 magnificence and       
benevolence1 unless it be said that some
 are much nearer the sun than the earth 
is1 and therefore must be uninhabitable 
from heat1 and those more distant from  
cold4 ,whatever objection this may be   
against their being inhabited by        
rational beings1 of an organisation     
similar to those on the earth1 it can   
have little force1 when urged with      

respect to rational beings in general4  
,but we may examine without indulging   
too much in conjecture1 whether it be   
not possible that the planets may be    
possessed by rational beings1 and       
contain animals and vegetables1 even    
little different from those with which  
we are familiar4  ,is the sun the       
principal cause of the temperature of   
the earth8 ,we have reason to suppose   
that it is not4 ,the mean temperature of
 the earth1 at a small depth from the   
surface1 seems constant in summer and in
 winter1 and is probably coeval with its
 first formation4  ,at the planet       
,mercury1 the direct heat of the sun1 or
 its power of causing heat1 is six times
 greater than with us4 ,if we suppose   
the mean temperature of ,mercury to be  
the same as of the earth1 and the planet
 to be surrounded with an atmosphere1   
denser than that of the earth1 less     
capable of transmitting heat1 or rather 
the influence of the sun to extricate   
heat1 and at the same time more readily 

conducting it to keep up an evenness of 
temperature1 may we not suppose the     
planet ,mercury fit for the habitation  
of men1 and the production of vegetables
 similar to our own8  ,at the ,georgium 
,sidus1 the direct influence of the sun 
is #cfj times less than at the earth1   
and the sun is there seen at an angle   
not much greater than that under which  
we behold ,venus1 when nearest4 ,yet may
 not the mean temperature of the        
,georgium ,sidus be nearly the same as  
that of the earth8 ,may not its         
atmosphere more easily transmit the     
influence of the sun1 and may not the   
matter of heat be more copiously        
combined1 and more readily extricated1  
than with us8 ,whence changes of season 
similar to our own may take place4 ,even
 in the comets we may suppose no great  
change of temperature takes place1 as we
 know of no cause which will deprive    
them of their mean temperature1 and     
particularly if we suppose1 that on     
their approach towards the sun1 there is

 a provision for their atmosphere       
becoming denser4 ,the tails they        
exhibit1 when in the neighbourhood of   
the sun1 seem in some measure to        
countenance this idea4  ,we can hardly  
suppose the sun1 a body three hundred   
times larger than all the planets       
together1 was created only to preserve  
the periodic motions1 and give light and
 heat to the planets4 ,many astronomers 
have thought that its atmosphere only is
 luminous1 and its body opake1 and      
probably of the same constitution as the
 planets4 ,allowing therefore that its  
luminous atmosphere only extricates     
heat1 we see no reason why the sun      
itself should not be inhabited7#ge74    
7#ge7 ,brinkley1 ,elements of           
,astronomy1 ,chap4 ,,ix4   ,there is    
certainly no end to the suppositions    
that may be made by an ingenious        
astronomer4 ,may we not suppose that we 
might do nearly as well altogether      
without the sun1 which it appears is at 
present of little use to us as to warmth

 and heat8 ,as to light1 the great      
creator might1 for aught we know1 find a
 substitute2 feelers1 for example1      
endued with a certain acuteness of      
sense3 or1 at all events1 the least     
imaginable degree of light might answer 
every purpose to organs adapted to this 
kind of twilight4 ,in that way the      
inhabitants of the ,georgium ,sidus are 
already sufficiently provided for2 they 
appear to have as little benefit of the 
light as of the heat of the sun4 ,how   
the satellites of the distant planets   
are supplied with light is a mystery1   
since their principals have scarcely    
any4 ,unless indeed1 like the sun1 they 
have a luminous atmosphere1 competent to
 enlighten a whole system1 themselves   
being opake4 ,but in truth light in a   
greater or less degree seems scarcely   
worthy of a thought1 since the          
inhabitants of the planet ,mercury have 
not their eyes put out by a light1      
scarcely inferior in radiance to that   
which is reflected by those plates of   

burning brass1 with which tyrants in    
some ages were accustomed to extinguish 
the sense of vision in their unfortunate
 victims4 ,the comets also must be a    
delectable residence2 that of #afhj     
completing its orbit in #egf years1 and 
being at its greatest distance about    
eleven thousand two hundred millions of 
miles from the sun1 and at its least    
within less than a third part of the    
sun's semi-diameter from its            
surface7#gf74 ,they must therefore have 
delightful vicissitudes of light and the
 contrary2 for1 as to heat1 that is     
already provided for4 ,archdeacon       
,brinkley's postulate is1 that these    
bodies are possessed by rational beings1
 and contain animals and vegetables1    
little different from those with which  
we are familiar4      7#gf7 ,ferguson1  
,section #ic4   ,now the only reason we 
have to believe in these extraordinary  
propositions1 is the knowledge we       
possess of the divine attributes4 ,from 
the force of this consideration it is   

argued that ,god will not leave any     
sensible area of matter unoccupied1 and 
therefore that it is impossible that    
such vast orbs as we believe surround us
 even to the extent of infinite space1  
should not be richly stored with        
rational beings1 the capable witnesses  
of his power1 magnificence and          
benevolence4 ,all difficulties arising  
from the considerations of light1 and   
heat1 and a thousand other obstacles1   
are to give way to the perfect insight  
we have as to how the deity will conduct
 himself in every case that can be      
proposed4 ,i am not persuaded that this 
is agreeable to religion2 and ,i am     
still less convinced that it is         
compatible with the sobriety and        
sedateness of common sense4  ,it is with
 some degree of satisfaction that ,i    
perceive lord ,brougham1 the reputed    
author of the ,preliminary ,discourse to
 the ,library of ,useful ,knowledge1 at 
the same time that he states the        
dimensions and distances of the heavenly

 bodies in the usual way1 says not a    
word of their inhabitants4  ,it is      
somewhat remarkable that1 since the     
commencement of the present century1    
four new planets have been added to     
those formerly contained in the         
enumeration of the solar system4 ,they  
lie between the planets ,mars and       
,jupiter1 and have been named ,vesta1   
,juno1 ,ceres and ,pallas4 ,brinkley    
speaks of them in this manner4 ,the very
 small magnitudes of the new planets    
,ceres and ,pallas1 and their nearly    
equal distances from the sun1 induced   
,dr4 ,olbers1 who discovered ,pallas in 
#ahjb1 nearly in the same place where he
 had observed ,ceres a few months       
before1 to conjecture that they were    
fragments of a larger planet1 which had 
by some unknown cause been broken to    
pieces4 ,it follows from the law of     
gravity1 by which the planets are       
retained in their orbits1 that each     
fragment would again1 after every       
revolution about the sun1 pass nearly   

through the place in which the planet   
was when the catastrophe happened1 and  
besides the orbit of each fragment would
 intersect the continuation of the line 
joining this place and the sun4 ,thence 
it was easy to ascertain the two        
particular regions of the heavens       
through which all these fragments would 
pass4 ,also1 by carefully noting the    
small stars thereabout1 and examining   
them from time to time1 it might be     
expected that more of the fragments     
would be discovered4--,m4 ,harding      
discovered the planet ,juno in one of   
these regions2 and ,dr4 ,olbers himself 
also1 by carefully examining them 7the  
small stars7 from time to time1         
discovered ,vesta4  ,these additions    
certainly afford us a new epoch in the  
annals of the solar system1 and of      
astronomy itself4 ,it is somewhat       
remarkable1 that ,herschel1 who in the  
course of his observations traced       
certain nebulae1 the light from which   
must have been two millions of years in 

reaching the earth1 should never have   
remarked these planets1 which1 so to    
speak1 lay at his feet4 ,it reminds one 
of ,esop's astrologer1 who1 to the      
amusement of his ignorant countrymen1   
while he was wholly occupied in         
surveying the heavens1 suddenly found   
himself plunged in a pit4 ,these new    
planets also we are told are fragments  
of a larger planet3 how came this larger
 planet never to have been discovered8  
,till ,herschel's time we were content  
with six planets and the sun1 making up 
the cabalistical number seven4 ,he added
 another4 ,but these four new ones      
entirely derange the scheme4 ,the       
astronomers have not yet had opportunity
 to digest them into their places1 and  
form new worlds of them4 ,this is all   
unpleasant4 ,they are1 it seems1        
fragments of a larger planet1 which had 
by some unknown cause been broken to    
pieces4 ,they therefore are probably not
 inhabited4 ,how does this correspond   
with the goodness of ,god1 which will   

suffer no mass of matter in his creation
 to remain unoccupied8 ,herschel talks  
at his ease of whole systems1 suns with 
all their attendant planets1 being      
consigned to destruction4 ,but here we  
have a catastrophe happening before our 
eyes1 and cannot avoid being shocked by 
it4 ,god does nothing in vain4 ,for     
which of his lofty purposes has this    
planet been broken to pieces1 and its   
fragments left to deform the system of  
which we are inhabitants2 at least to   
humble the pride of man1 and laugh to   
scorn his presumption8 ,still they      
perform their revolutions1 and obey the 
projectile and gravitating forces1 which
 have induced us to people ten thousand 
times ten thousand worlds4 ,it is time1 
that we should learn modesty1 to revere 
in silence the great cause to which the 
universe is indebted for its            
magnificence1 its beauty and harmony1   
and to acknowledge that we do not       
possess the key that should unlock the  
mysteries of creation4  ,one of the most

 important lessons that can be impressed
 on the human mind1 is that of          
self-knowledge and a just apprehension  
of what it is that we are competent to  
achieve4 ,we can do much4 ,we are       
capable of much knowledge and much      
virtue4 ,we have patience1 perseverance 
and subtlety4 ,we can put forth         
considerable energies1 and nerve        
ourselves to resist great obstacles and 
much suffering4 ,our ingenuity is       
various and considerable4 ,we can form  
machines1 and erect mighty structures4  
,the invention of man for the ease of   
human life1 and for procuring it a      
multitude of pleasures and              
accommodations1 is truly astonishing4   
,we can dissect the human frame1 and    
anatomise the mind4 ,we can study the   
scene of our social existence1 and make 
extraordinary improvements in the       
administration of justice1 and in       
securing to ourselves that germ of all  
our noblest virtues1 civil and political
 liberty4 ,we can study the earth1 its  

strata1 its soil1 its animals1 and its  
productions1 from the cedar that is in  
,lebanon1 to the hyssop that springeth  
out of the wall4  ,but man is not       
omnipotent4 ,if he aspires to be worthy 
of honour1 it is necessary that he      
should compute his powers1 and what it  
is they are competent to achieve4 ,the  
globe of earth1 with all that is        
therein1 is our estate and our empire4  
,let us be content with that which we   
have4 ,it were a pitiful thing to see so
 noble a creature struggling in a field1
 where it is impossible for him to      
distinguish himself1 or to effect any   
thing real4 ,there is no situation in   
which any one can appear more little and
 ludicrous1 than when he engages in vain
 essays1 and seeks to accomplish that1  
which a moment's sober thought would    
teach him was utterly hopeless4  ,even  
astronomy is to a certain degree our    
own4 ,we can measure the course of the  
sun1 and the orbits of the planets4 ,we 
can calculate eclipses4 ,we can number  

the stars1 assign to them their places1 
and form them into what we call         
constellations4 ,but1 when we pretend to
 measure millions of miles in the       
heavens1 and to make ourselves          
acquainted with the inhabitants of ten  
thousand times ten thousand worlds and  
the accommodations which the creator has
 provided for their comfort and         
felicity1 we probably engage in         
something more fruitless and idle1 than 
the pigmy who should undertake to bend  
the bow of ,ulysses1 or strut and       
perform the office of a warrior clad in 
the armour of ,achilles4  ,how beautiful
 is the firmament2 this majestical roof 
fretted with golden fire6 ,let us beware
 how we mar the magnificent scene with  
our interpolations and commentaries6    
,simplicity is of the essence of the    
truly great4 ,let us look at the        
operations of that mighty power from    
which we ourselves derive our existence1
 with humility and reverential awe6 ,it 
may well become us4 ,let us not presume 

into the heaven of heavens1 unbidden1   
unauthorised guests6 ,let us adopt the  
counsel of the apostle1 and allow no man
 to spoil us through vain philosophy4   
,the business of human life is serious2 
the useful investigations in which we   
may engage are multiplied4 ,it is       
excellent to see a rational being       
conscious of his genuine province1 and  
not idly wasting powers adapted for the 
noblest uses in unmeasured essays and   
ill-concocted attempts4     ,,essay     
,,xxii4 ,,of ,,the ,,material           
,,universe4  ,in the preceding ,essay ,i
 have referred to the theory of         
,berkeley1 whose opinion is that there  
is no such thing as matter in the sense 
in which it is understood by the writers
 on natural philosophy1 and that the    
whole of our experience in that respect 
is the result of a system of accidents  
without an intelligible subject1 by     
means of which antecedents and          
consequents flow on for ever in a train1
 the past succession of which man is    

able to record1 and the future in many  
cases he is qualified to predict and to 
act upon4  ,an argument more palpable   
and popular than that of ,berkeley in   
favour of the same hypothesis1 might be 
deduced from the points recapitulated in
 that ,essay as delivered by ,locke and 
,newton4 ,if what are vulgarly          
denominated the secondary qualities of  
matter are in reality nothing but       
sensations existing in the human mind1  
then at any rate matter is a very       
different thing from what it is         
ordinarily apprehended to be4 ,to which 
,i add1 in the second place1 that1 if   
matter1 as is stated by ,newton1        
consists in so much greater a degree of 
pores than solid parts1 that the        
absolute particles contained in the     
solar system might1 for aught we know1  
he contained in a nutshell7#gg71 and    
that no two ever touched each other1 or 
approached so near that they might not  
be brought nearer1 provided a sufficient
 force could be applied for that        

purpose1--and if1 as ,priestley teaches1
 all that we observe is the result of   
successive spheres of attraction and    
repulsion1 the centre of which is a     
mathematical point only1 we then        
certainly come very near to a           
conclusion1 which should banish matter  
out of the theatre of real              
existences7#gh74      7#gg7 ,see above1 
,essay ,,xxi4      7#gh7 ,see above1    
,essay ,,xxi4   ,but the extreme        
subtleties of human intellect are       
perhaps of little further use1 than to  
afford an amusement to persons of       
curious speculation1 and whose condition
 in human society procures them leisure 
for such enquiries4 ,the same thing     
happens here1 as in the subject of my   
,twelfth ,essay1 on the ,liberty of     
,human ,actions4 ,the speculator in his 
closet is one man3 the same person1 when
 he comes out of his retirement1 and    
mixes in intercourse with his           
fellow-creatures1 is another man4 ,the  
necessarian1 when he reasons on the     

everlasting concatenation of antecedents
 and consequents1 proves to his own     
apprehension irrefragably1 that he is a 
passive instrument1 acted upon1 and     
acting upon other things1 in turn1 and  
that he can never disengage himself from
 the operation of the omnipotent laws of
 physical nature1 and the impulses of   
other men with whom he is united in the 
ties of society4 ,but no sooner does    
this acute and ingenious reasoner come  
into active life and the intercourse of 
his fellowmen1 than all these fine-drawn
 speculations vanish from his           
recollection4 ,he regards himself and   
other men as beings endowed with a      
liberty of action1 as possessed of a    
proper initiative power1 and free to do 
a thing or not to do it1 without being  
subject to the absolute and irresistible
 constraint of motives4 ,it is from this
 internal and indefeasible sense of     
liberty1 that we draw all our moral     
energies and enthusiasm1 that we        
persevere heroically in defiance of     

obstacles and discouragements1 that we  
praise or blame the actions of others1  
and admire the elevated virtues of the  
best of our contemporaries1 and of those
 whose achievements adorn the page of   
history4  ,it is in a manner of         
precisely the same sort as that which   
prevails in the philosophical doctrines 
of liberty and necessity1 that we find  
ourselves impelled to feel on the       
question of the existence of the        
material universe4 ,berkeley1 and as    
many persons as are persuaded by his or 
similar reasonings1 feel satisfied in   
speculation that there is no such thing 
as matter in the sense in which it is   
understood by the writers on natural    
philosophy1 and that all our notions of 
the external and actual existence of the
 table1 the chair1 and the other        
material substances with which we       
conceive ourselves to be surrounded1 of 
woods1 and mountains1 and rivers1 and   
seas1 are mere prejudice and            
misconception4 ,all this is very well in

 the closet1 and as long as we are      
involved in meditation1 and remain      
abstracted from action1 business1 and   
the exertion of our limbs and corporal  
faculties4 ,but it is too fine for the  
realities of life4 ,berkeley1 and the   
most strenuous and spiritualised of his 
followers1 no sooner descend from the   
high tower of their speculations1 submit
 to the necessities of their nature1 and
 mix in the business of the world1 than 
they become impelled1 as strongly as the
 necessarian in the question of the     
liberty of human actions1 not only to   
act like other men1 but even to feel    
just in the same manner as if they had  
never been acquainted with these        
abstractions4 ,a table then becomes     
absolutely a table1 and a chair a chair3
 they are fed with the same food1 hurt  
by the same weapons1 and warmed and     
cooled by the same summer and winter1 as
 other men3 and they make use of the    
refreshments which nature requires1 with
 as true an orthodoxy1 and as credulous 

a temper1 as he who was never assailed  
with such refinements4 ,nature is too   
strong1 to be prevailed on to retire1   
and give way to the authority of        
definitions and syllogistical deduction4
  ,but1 when we have granted all this1  
it is however a mistake to say1 that    
these subtleties of human intellect are 
of little further use1 than to afford an
 amusement to persons of curious        
speculation7#gi74 ,we have seen1 in the 
case of the doctrine of philosophical   
necessity7#hj71 that1 though it can     
never form a rule for the intercourse   
between man and man1 it may nevertheless
 be turned to no mean advantage4 ,it is 
calculated to inspire us with temperance
 and toleration4 ,it tends impressively 
to evince to us1 that this scene of     
things is but like the shadows which    
pass before us in a magic lanthorn1 and 
that1 after all1 men are but the tools1 
not the masters1 of their fate4 ,it     
corrects the illusions of life1 much    
after the same manner as the spectator  

of a puppet-shew is enlightened1 who    
should be taken within the curtain1 and 
shewn how the wires are pulled by the   
master1 which produce all the turmoil   
and strife that before riveted our      
attention4 ,it is good for him who would
 arrive at all the improvement of which 
our nature is capable1 at one time to   
take his place among the literal        
beholders of the drama1 and at another  
to go behind the scenes1 and remark the 
deceptions in their original elements1  
and the actors in their proper and      
natural costume4      7#gi7 ,see above1 
,essay ,,xxii4      7#hj7 ,see above1   
,essay ,,xii4   ,and1 as in the question
 of the liberty of human actions1 so in 
that of the reality of the material     
universe1 it is a privilege not to be   
despised1 that we are so formed as to be
 able to dissect the subject that is    
submitted to our examination1 and to    
strip the elements of which this        
sublunary scene is composed1 of the     
disguise in which they present          

themselves to the vulgar spectator4 ,it 
is little1 after all1 that we are       
capable to know2 and the man of heroic  
mind and generous enterprise1 will not  
refuse the discoveries that are placed  
within his reach4 ,the subtleties of    
grammar are as the porch1 which leads   
from the knowledge of words to the      
knowledge of things4 ,the subtleties of 
mathematics defecate the grossness of   
our apprehension1 and supply the        
elements of a sounder and severer logic4
 ,and in the same manner the faculty    
which removes the illusions of external 
appearance1 and enables us to look into 
the seeds of time1 is one which we are  
bound to estimate at its genuine value4 
,the more we refine our faculties1 other
 things equal1 the wiser we grow3 we are
 the more raised above the thickness of 
the atmosphere that envelops our        
fellow-mortals1 and are made partakers  
of a nature superhuman and divine4      
,there is a curious question that has   
risen out of this proposition of        

,berkeley1 of the supposed illusion we  
suffer in our conceptions of the        
material universe4 ,it has been said1   
,well then1 ,i am satisfied that the    
chairs1 the tables1 and the other       
material substances with which ,i       
conceive myself to be surrounded1 are   
not what they appear to be1 but are     
merely an eternal chain of antecedents  
and consequents1 going on according to  
what ,leibnitz calls a 'preestablished  
harmony1' and thus furnishing the ground
 of the speculations which mortals      
cherish1 and the motives of their       
proceeding4 ,but1 if thus1 in the       
ordinary process of human affairs1 we   
believe in matter1 when in reality there
 is no such thing as matter1 how shall  
we pronounce of mind1 and the things    
which happen to us in our seeming       
intercourse with our fellow-men1 and in 
the complexities of love and hatred1 of 
kindred and friendship1 of benevolence  
and misanthropy1 of robbery and murder1 
and of the wholesale massacre of        

thousands of human beings which are     
recorded in the page of history8 ,we    
absolutely know nothing of the lives and
 actions of others but through the      
medium of material impulse4 ,and1 if you
 take away matter1 the bodies of our    
fellow-men1 does it not follow by       
irresistible consequence that all       
knowledge of their minds is taken away  
also8 ,am not ,i therefore 7the person  
engaged in reading the present ,essay7  
the only being in existence1 an entire  
universe to myself8  ,certainly this is 
a very different conclusion from any    
that ,berkeley ever contemplated4 ,in   
the very title of the ,treatise in which
 his notions on this subject are        
unfolded1 he professes his purpose to be
 to remove the grounds of scepticism1   
atheism and irreligion4 ,berkeley was a 
sincere ,christian1 and a man of the    
most ingenuous dispositions4 ,pope1 in  
the ,epilogue to his ,satires1 does not 
hesitate to ascribe to him every virtue 
under heaven4 ,he was for twenty years a

 prelate of the ,protestant church4     
,and1 though his personal sentiments    
were in the highest degree              
philanthropical and amiable1 yet1 in his
 most diffusive production1 entitled    
,the ,minute ,philosopher1 he treats    
those who are called ,free ,thinkers    
with a scorn and disdain1 scarcely to be
 reconciled with the spirit of          
,christian meekness4  ,there are        
examples however1 especially in the     
fields of controversy1 where an         
adventurous speculatist has been known  
to lay down premises and principles1    
from which inferences might be fairly   
deduced1 incompatible with the opinions 
entertained by him who delivered them4  
,it may therefore be no unprofitable    
research to enquire how far the creed of
 the non-existence of matter is to be   
regarded as in truth and reality        
countenancing the inference which has   
just been recited4  ,the persons then1  
who refine with ,berkeley upon the      
system of things so far1 as to deny that

 there is any such thing as matter in   
the sense in which it is understood by  
the writers on natural philosophy1      
proceed on the ground of affirming that 
we have no reason to believe that the   
causes of our sensations have an express
 resemblance to the sensations          
themselves7#ha74 ,that which gives us a 
sensation of colour is not itself       
coloured3 and the same may be affirmed  
of the sensations of hot and cold1 of   
sweet and bitter1 and of odours         
offensive or otherwise4 ,the            
immaterialist proceeds to say1 that what
 we call matter has been strewn to be so
 exceedingly porous1 that1 for any thing
 we know1 all the solid particles in the
 universe might be contained in a       
nutshell1 that there is no such thing in
 the external world as actual contact1  
and that no two particles of matter were
 ever so near to each other1 but that   
they might be brought nearer1 if a      
sufficient force could be applied for   
that purpose4 ,from these premises it   

seems to follow with sufficient         
evidence1 that the causes of our        
sensations1 so far as the material      
universe is concerned1 bear no express  
resemblance to the sensations           
themselves4      7#ha7 ,see above1      
,essay ,,xxi4   ,how then does the      
question stand with relation to mind8   
,are those persons who deny the         
existence of matter1 reduced1 if they   
would be consistent in their reasonings1
 to deny1 each man for himself1 that he 
has any proper evidence of the existence
 of other minds than his own8  ,he      
denies1 while he has the sensation of   
colour1 that there exists colour out of 
himself1 unless in thinking and         
percipient beings constituted in a      
manner similar to that in which he is   
constituted4 ,and the same of the       
sensations of hot and cold1 sweet and   
bitter1 and odours offensive or         
otherwise4 ,he affirms1 while he has the
 sensation of length1 breadth and       
thickness1 that there is no continuous  

substance out of himself1 possessing the
 attributes of length1 breadth and      
thickness in any way similar to the     
sensation of which he is conscious4 ,he 
professes therefore that he has no      
evidence1 arising from his observation  
of what we call matter1 of the actual   
existence of a material world4 ,he looks
 into himself1 and all he finds is      
sensation2 but sensation cannot be a    
property of inert matter4 ,there is     
therefore no assignable analogy between 
the causes of his sensations1 whatever  
they may be1 and the sensations         
themselves2 and the material world1 such
 as we apprehend it1 is the mere        
creature of his own mind4  ,let us next 
consider how this question stands as to 
the conceptions he entertains respecting
 the minds of other men4 ,that which    
gives him the sensation of colour1 is   
not any thing coloured out of himself2  
and that which gives him the sensation  
of length1 breadth and thickness1 is not
 any thing long1 broad and thick in a   

manner corresponding with the impression
 he receives4 ,there is nothing in the  
nature of a parallel1 a type and its    
archetype1 between that which is without
 him and that which is within1 the      
impresser and the impression4 ,this is  
the point supposed to be established by 
,locke and ,newton1 and by those who    
have followed the reasonings of these   
philosophers into their remotest        
consequences4  ,but the case is far     
otherwise in the impressions we receive 
respecting the minds of other men4 ,in  
colour it has been proved by these      
authors that there is no express        
correspondence and analogy between the  
cause of the sensation and the          
sensation4 ,they are not part and       
counterpart4 ,but in mind there is a    
precise resemblance and analogy between 
the conceptions we are led to entertain 
respecting other men1 and what we know  
of ourselves4 ,i and my associate1 or   
fellow-man1 are like two instruments of 
music constructed upon the same model4  

,we have each of us1 so to speak1 the   
three great divisions of sound1 base1   
tenor and treble4 ,we have each the same
 number of keys1 capable of being       
struck1 consecutively or with           
alternations1 at the will of the master4
 ,we can utter the same sound or series 
of sounds1 or sounds of a different     
character1 but which respond to each    
other4 ,my neighbour therefore being of 
the same nature as myself1 what passes  
within me may be regarded as amounting  
to a commanding evidence that he is a   
real being1 having a proper and         
independent existence4  ,there is       
further something still more impressive 
and irresistible in the notices ,i      
receive respecting the minds of other   
men4 ,the sceptics whose reasonings ,i  
am here taking into consideration1      
admit1 each man for himself1 the reality
 of his own existence4 ,there is such a 
thing therefore as human nature2 for he 
is a specimen of it4 ,now the idea of   
human nature1 or of man1 is a very      

complex thing4 ,he is in the first place
 the subject of sensible impressions1   
however these impressions are           
communicated to him4 ,he has the        
faculties of thinking and feeling4 ,he  
is subject to the law of the association
 of ideas1 or1 in other words1 any one  
idea existing in his mind has a tendency
 to call up the ideas of other things   
which have been connected with it in his
 first experience4 ,he has1 be it       
delusive or otherwise1 the sense of     
liberty of action4  ,but we will go     
still further into detail as to the     
nature of man4  ,our lives are carried  
forward by the intervention of what we  
call meat1 drink and sleep4 ,we are     
liable to the accidents of health and   
sickness4 ,we are alternately the       
recipients of joy and sorrow1 of        
cheerfulness and melancholy4 ,our       
passions are excited by similar means1  
whether of love or hatred1 complacency  
or indignation1 sympathy or resentment4 
,i could fill many pages with a         

description of the properties or        
accidents1 which belong to man as such1 
or to which he is liable4  ,now with all
 these each man is acquainted in the    
sphere of his inward experience1 whether
 he is a single being standing by       
himself1 or is an individual belonging  
to a numerous species4  ,observe then   
the difference between my acquaintance  
with the phenomena of the material      
universe1 and with the individuals of my
 own species4 ,the former say nothing to
 me2 they are a series of events and no 
more2 ,i cannot penetrate into their    
causes2 that which gives rise to my     
sensations1 may or may not be similar to
 the sensations themselves4 ,the        
follower of ,berkeley or ,newton has    
satisfied himself in the negative4  ,but
 the case is very different in my       
intercourse with my fellow-men4         
,agreeably to the statement already made
 ,i know the reality of human nature2   
for ,i feel the particulars that        
constitute it within myself4 ,the       

impressions ,i receive from that        
intercourse say something to me2 for    
they talk to me of beings like myself4  
,my own existence becomes multiplied in 
infinitum4 ,of the possibility of matter
 ,i know nothing2 but with the          
possibility of mind ,i am acquainted2   
for ,i am myself an example4 ,i am      
amazed at the consistency and systematic
 succession of the phenomena of the     
material universe2 though ,i cannot     
penetrate the veil which presents itself
 to my grosser sense1 nor see effects in
 their causes4 ,but ,i can see1 in other
 words1 ,i have the most cogent reasons 
to believe in1 the causes of the        
phenomena that occur in my apparent     
intercourse with my fellow-men4 ,what   
solution so natural1 as that they are   
produced by beings like myself1 the     
duplicates1 with certain variations1 of 
what ,i feel within me8  ,the belief in 
the reality of matter explains nothing4 
,supposing it to exist1 if ,newton is   
right1 no particle of extraneous matter 

ever touched the matter of my body2 and 
therefore it is not just to regard it as
 the cause of my sensations4 ,it would  
amount to no more than two systems going
 on at the same time by a preestablished
 harmony1 but totally independent of and
 disjointed from each other4  ,but the  
belief in the existence of our          
fellow-men explains much4 ,it makes     
level before us the wonder of the method
 of their proceedings1 and affords an   
obvious reason why they should be in so 
many respects like our own4 ,if ,i      
dismiss from my creed the existence of  
inert matter1 ,i lose nothing4 ,the     
phenomena1 the train of antecedents and 
consequents1 remain as before2 and this 
is all that ,i am truly concerned with4 
,but take away the existence of my      
fellow-men2 and you reduce all that is1 
and all that ,i experience1 to a        
senseless mummery4 ,you take my life1   
taking the thing whereon ,i live4       
,human nature1 and the nature of mind1  
are to us a theme of endless            

investigation4 ,the proper study of     
mankind is man4 ,all the subtlety of    
metaphysics1 or 7if there be men        
captious and prejudiced enough to       
dislike that term7 the science of       
ourselves1 depends upon it4 ,the science
 of morals hangs upon the actions of    
men1 and the effects they produce upon  
our brother-men1 in a narrower or a     
wider circle4 ,the endless1 and         
inexpressibly interesting1 roll of      
history relies for its meaning and its  
spirit upon the reality and substance of
 the subjects of which it treats4       
,poetry1 and all the wonders and endless
 varieties that imagination creates1    
have this for their solution and their  
soul4  ,sympathy is the only reality of 
which we are susceptible2 it is our     
heart of hearts3 and1 if the world had  
been one entire and perfect chrysolite1 
without this it would have been no more 
than one heap of rubbish4  ,observe the 
difference between what we know of the  
material world1 and what of the         

intellectual4 ,the material goes on for 
ever according to certain laws that     
admit of no discrimination4 ,they       
proceed upon a first principle1 an      
impulse given them from the beginning of
 things4 ,their effects are regulated by
 something that we call their nature3   
fire burns2 water suffocates2 the       
substances around us that we call solid1
 depend for their effects1 when put in  
motion1 upon momentum and gravity4  ,the
 principle that regulates the dead      
universe1 acts by general1 not by       
partial laws4       ,when the loose     
mountain trembles from on high1         
,shall gravitation cease1 if you go by8 
,no3 the chain of antecedents and       
consequents proceeds in this respect for
 ever the same4 ,the laws of what we    
call the material world continue        
unvaried4 ,and1 when the vast system of 
things was first set in motion1 every   
thing1 so far as depends on inert       
matter1 was determined to the minutest  
particle1 even to the end of time4  ,the

 material world1 or that train of       
antecedents and consequents which we    
understand by that term1 goes on for    
ever in a train agreeably to the impulse
 previously given4 ,it is deaf and      
inexorable4 ,it is unmoved by the       
consideration of any accidents and      
miseries that may result1 and           
unalterable4 ,but man is a source of    
events of a very different nature4 ,he  
looks to results1 and is governed by    
views growing out of the contemplation  
of them4 ,he acts in a way diametrically
 opposite to the action of inert matter1
 and turns1 and turns1 and turns again1 
at the impulse of the thought that      
strikes him1 the appetite that prompts1 
the passions that move1 and the effects 
that he anticipates4 ,it is therefore in
 a high degree unreasonable1 to make    
that train of inferences which may      
satisfy us on the subject of material   
phenomena1 a standard of what we ought  
to think respecting the phenomena of    
mind4  ,it is further worthy of our     

notice to recollect1 that the same      
reasonings which apply to our brethren  
of mankind1 apply also to the brute     
creation4 ,they1 like ourselves1 act    
from motives2 that is1 the elections    
they form are adopted by them for the   
sake of certain consequences they expect
 to see result from them4 ,whatever     
becomes therefore of the phenomena of   
what we call dead matter1 we are here   
presented with tribes of being1         
susceptible of pleasure and pain1 of    
hope and fear1 of regard and resentment4
  ,how beautifully does this conviction 
vary the scene of things6 ,what a source
 to us is the animal creation1 of       
amusement1 of curious observations upon 
the impulses of inferior intellect1 of  
the exhaustless varieties of what we    
call instinct1 of the care we can       
exercise for their accommodation and    
welfare1 and of the attachment and      
affection we win from them in return6   
,if ,i travel alone through pathless    
deserts1 if ,i journey from the rising  

to the setting sun1 with no object      
around me but nature's desolation1 or   
the sublime1 the magnificent and the    
exuberant scenery she occasionally      
presents1 still ,i have that noble      
animal1 the horse1 and my faithful dog1 
the companions of my toil1 and with     
whom1 when my solitude would otherwise  
become insufferable1 ,i can hold        
communion1 and engage in dumb dialogues 
of sentiment and affection4  ,i have    
heard of a man1 who1 talking to his     
friend on the subject of these          
speculations1 said1 ,what then1 are you 
so poor and pusillanimous a creature1   
that you could not preserve your        
serenity1 be perfectly composed and     
content1 and hold on your way unvaried1 
though you were convinced that you were 
the only real being in existence1 and   
all the rest were mere phantasies and   
shadows8  ,if ,i had been the person to 
whom this speech was addressed1 ,i      
should have frankly acknowledged1 ,i am 
the poor and pusillanimous creature you 

are disposed to regard with so much     
scorn4  ,to adopt the sententious       
language of the ,bible1 ,it is not good 
for man to be alone4 ,all our faculties 
and attributes bear relation to1 and    
talk to us of1 other beings like        
ourselves4 ,we might indeed eat1 drink  
and sleep1 that is1 submit to those     
necessities which we so denominate1     
without thinking of any thing beyond    
ourselves2 for these are the demands of 
our nature1 and we know that we cannot  
subsist without them4 ,we might make use
 of the alternate conditions of exercise
 and repose4  ,but the life of our lives
 would be gone4 ,as far as we bore in   
mind the creed we had adopted1 of our   
single existence1 we could neither love 
nor hate4 ,sympathy would be a solemn   
mockery4 ,we could not communicate2 for 
the being to whom our communication was 
addressed we were satisfied was a       
non-entity4 ,we could not anticipate the
 pleasure or pain1 the joy or sorrow1 of
 another2 for that other had no         

existence4 ,we should be in a worse     
condition than ,robinson ,crusoe in the 
desolate island2 for he believed in the 
existence of other men1 and hoped and   
trusted that he should one day again    
enter into human society4 ,we should be 
in a worse condition than ,robinson     
,crusoe2 for he at least was unannoyed  
in his solitude2 while we are           
perpetually and per force intruded on1  
like a delirious man1 by visions which  
we know to be unreal1 but which we are  
denied the power to deliver ourselves   
from4 ,we have no motive to any of the  
great and cardinal functions of human   
life2 for there is no one in being1 that
 we can benefit1 or that we can affect4 
,study is nothing to us2 for we have no 
use for it4 ,even science is            
unsatisfactory2 unless we can           
communicate it by word or writing1 can  
converse upon it1 and compare notes with
 our neighbour4 ,history is nothing2 for
 there were no ,greeks and no ,romans2  
no freemen and no slaves2 no kings and  

no subjects2 no despots1 nor victims of 
their tyranny2 no republics1 nor states 
immerged in brutal and ignominious      
servitude4 ,life must be inevitably a   
burthen to us1 a dreary1 unvaried1      
motiveless existence2 and death must be 
welcomed1 as the most desirable blessing
 that can visit us4 ,it is impossible   
indeed that we should always recollect  
this our1 by supposition1 real          
situation2 but1 as often as we did1 it  
would come over us like a blight1       
withering all the prospects of our      
industry1 or like a scirocco1 unbracing 
the nerves of our frame1 and consigning 
us to the most pitiable depression4     
,thus far ,i have allowed myself to     
follow the refinements of those who     
profess to deny the existence of the    
material universe4 ,but it is           
satisfactory to come back to that       
persuasion1 which1 from whatever cause  
it is derived1 is incorporated with our 
very existence1 and can never be shaken 
off by us4 ,our senses are too powerful 

in their operation1 for it to be        
possible for us to discard them1 and to 
take as their substitute1 in active     
life1 and in the earnestness of pursuit1
 the deductions of our logical faculty1 
however well knit and irresistible we   
may apprehend them to be4 ,speculation  
and common sense are at war on this     
point2 and however we may think with the
 learned1 and follow the abstrusenesses 
of the philosopher1 in the sequestered  
hour of our meditation1 we must always  
act1 and even feel1 with the vulgar1    
when we come abroad into the world4  ,it
 is however no small gratification to   
the man of sober mind1 that1 from what  
has here been alleged1 it seems to      
follow1 that untutored mind1 and the    
severest deductions of philosophy1 agree
 in that most interesting of our        
concerns1 our intercourse with our      
fellow-creatures4 ,the inexorable       
reasoner1 refining on the reports of    
sense1 may dispose1 as he pleases1 of   
the chair1 the table1 and the so called 

material substances around him4 ,he may 
include the whole solid matter of the   
universe in a nutshell1 or less than a  
nutshell4 ,but he cannot deprive me of  
that greatest of all consolations1 the  
sustaining pillar of my existence1 the  
cordial drop ,heaven in our cup has     
thrown1--the intercourse of my          
fellow-creatures4 ,when we read history1
 the subjects of which we read are      
realities2 they do not come like        
shadows1 so depart2 they loved and acted
 in sober earnest2 they sometimes       
perpetrated crimes2 but they sometimes  
also achieved illustrious deeds1 which  
angels might look down from their       
exalted abodes and admire4 ,we are not  
deluded with mockeries4 ,the woman ,i   
love1 and the man to whom ,i swear      
eternal friendship1 are as much         
realities as myself4 ,if ,i relieve the 
poor1 and assist the progress of genius 
and virtuous designs struggling with    
fearful discouragements1 ,i do something
 upon the success of which ,i may safely

 congratulate myself4 ,if ,i devote my  
energies to enlighten my                
fellow-creatures1 to detect the weak    
places in our social institutions1 to   
plead the cause of liberty1 and to      
invite others to engage in noble actions
 and unite in effecting the most solid  
and unquestionable improvements1 ,i     
erect to my name an eternal monument2 or
 ,i do something better than            
this1--secure inestimable advantage to  
the latest posterity1 the benefit of    
which they shall enjoy1 long after the  
very name of the author shall1 with a   
thousand other things great and small1  
have been swallowed up in the gulph of  
insatiable oblivion4     ,,essay        
,,xxiii4 ,,of ,,human ,,virtue4 ,,the   
,,epilogue4  ,the life of man is divided
 into many stages2 and we shall not form
 a just estimate of our common nature1  
if we do not to a certain degree pass   
its successive periods in review1 and   
observe it in its commencement1 its     
progress1 and its maturity4  ,it has    

been attempted to be established in an  
early part of the present volume7#hb71  
that all men1 idiots and extraordinary  
cases being put out of the question1 are
 endowed with talents1 which1 if rightly
 directed1 would shew them to be apt1   
adroit1 intelligent and acute1 in the   
walk for which their organisation       
especially fitted them4 ,we are bound   
therefore1 particularly in the morning  
of life1 to consider every thing that   
presents itself to us in the human form1
 with deference and attention4          
7#hb7 ,see above1 ,essay ,,iii4   ,god1 
saith the ,preacher1 made man upright2  
but he hath sought out many inventions4 
,there is something loose and difficult 
of exposition in this statement2 but we 
shall find an important truth hid       
beneath its obscurity4  ,junius ,brutus1
 in the play1 says to his son1        ,i
 like thy frame3  the fingers of the    
,gods       ,i see have left their      
mastery upon thee2       ,and the       
majestic prints distinct appear4  ,such 

is the true description of every        
well-formed and healthful infant that is
 born into the world4  ,he is placed on 
the threshold of existence2 and an      
eventful journey is open before him4    
,for the first four or five years of    
life indeed he has little apprehension  
of the scenes that await him4 ,but a    
child of quick apprehension early begins
 to have day-dreams1 and to form        
imaginations of the various chances that
 may occur to him1 and the things he    
shall have to do1 when1 according to the
 language of the story-books1 he goes   
out to seek his fortune4  ,god made man 
upright4 ,every child that is born1 has 
within him a concealed magazine of      
excellence4 ,his heart beats for every  
thing that is lovely and good2 and      
whatever is set before him of that sort 
in honest colours1 rouses his emulation4
 ,by how many tokens does he prove      
himself worthy of our approbation and   
love--the unaffected and ingenuous      
sobriety with which he listens to what  

addresses itself to his attention1 the  
sweetness of his smile1 his hearty      
laugh1 the clear1 bell tones of his     
voice1 his sudden and assured impulses1 
and his bounding step6  ,to his own     
heart he promises well of himself4 ,like
 ,lear in the play1 he says1 ,i will do 
such things6--,what they are1 yet ,i    
know not4 ,but he is assured1 frank and 
light-spirited4 ,he thinks of no        
disguise4 ,he wears his heart upon his  
sleeve4 ,he looks in the face of his    
seniors with the glistening eye of      
confidence1 and expects to encounter    
sympathy and encouragement in return4   
,such is man1 as he comes from the hands
 of his maker4  ,thus prepared1 he is   
turned into the great field of society4 
,here he meets with much that he had not
 anticipated1 and with many rebuffs4 ,he
 is taught that he must accommodate his 
temper and proceedings to the           
expectations and prejudices of those    
around him4 ,he must be careful to give 
no offence4 ,with how many lessons1 not 

always the most salutary and ingenuous1 
is this maxim pregnant6 ,it calls on the
 neophyte to bear a wary eye1 and to    
watch the first indications of          
disapprobation and displeasure in those 
among whom his lot is cast4 ,it teaches 
him to suppress the genuine emotions of 
his soul4 ,it informs him that he is not
 always to yield to his own impulses1   
but that he must stretch forth his hands
 to another1 and be carried whither he  
would not4  ,it recommends to him       
falseness1 and to be the thing in       
outward appearance that he is not in his
 heart4  ,still however he goes on4 ,he 
shuts up his thoughts in his bosom2 but 
they are not exterminated4 ,on the      
contrary he broods over them with genial
 warmth2 and the less they are exposed  
to the eye of day1 the more             
perseveringly are they cherished4       
,perhaps he chooses some youthful       
confident of his imaginings3 and the    
effect of this is1 that he pours out his
 soul with uncontrolable copiousness1   

and with the fervour of a new and       
unchecked conceiving4 ,it is received   
with answering warmth2 or1 if there is  
any deficiency in the sympathy of his   
companion1 his mind is so earnest and   
full1 that he does not perceive it4 ,by 
and by1 it may be1 he finds that the    
discovery he had made of a friend1 a    
brother of his soul1 is1 like so many of
 the visions of this world1 hollow and  
fallacious4 ,he grasped1 as he thought1 
a jewel of the first water2 and it turns
 out to be a vulgar pebble4 ,no matter3 
he has gained something by the          
communication4 ,he has heard from his   
own lips the imaginings of his mind     
shaped into articulate air2 they grew   
more definite and distinct as he uttered
 them2 they came by the very act to have
 more of reality1 to be more tangible4  
,he shakes off the ill-assorted         
companion that only encumbered him1 and 
springs away in his race1 more light of 
heart1 and with a step more assured1    
than ever4  ,by and by he becomes a     

young man4 ,and1 whatever checks he may 
have received before1 it usually happens
 that all his hopes and projects return 
to him now with recruited strength4 ,he 
has no longer a master4 ,he no longer   
crouches to the yoke of subjection1 and 
is directed this way and that at the    
judgment of another4 ,liberty is at all 
times dear to the free-soured and       
ingenuous2 but never so much so1 as when
 we wear it in its full gloss and       
newness4 ,he never felt before1 that he 
was sui juris1 that he might go         
whithersoever he would1 without asking  
leave1 without consulting any other     
director than the law of his own mind4  
,it is nearly at the same season that he
 arrives at the period of puberty1 at   
the stature1 and in a certain degree at 
the strength1 which he is destined to   
attain4 ,he is by general consent       
admitted to be at years of discretion4  
,though ,i have put all these things    
together1 they do not1 in the course of 
nature1 all come at the same time4 ,it  

is a memorable period1 when the         
ingenuous youth is transferred from the 
trammels of the schoolmaster to the     
residence of a college4 ,it was at the  
age of seventeen that1 according to the 
custom of ,rome1 the youthful citizen   
put on the manly gown1 and was          
introduced into the forum4 ,even in     
college-life1 there is a difference in  
the privileges of the mere freshman1 and
 of the youth who has already completed 
the first half of his period in the     
university4  ,the season of what may be 
denominated the independence of the     
individual1 is certainly in no small    
degree critical4 ,a human being1        
suddenly emancipated from a state of    
subjection1 if we may not call it       
slavery1 and transported into a state of
 freedom1 must be expected to be guilty 
of some extravagancies and follies4     
,but upon the whole1 with a small number
 of exceptions1 it is creditable to     
human nature1 that we take this period  
of our new powers and immunities with so

 much sobriety as we do4  ,the young man
 then1 calls to mind all that he        
imagined at an earlier season1 and that 
he promised himself4 ,he adds to this   
the new lights that he has since        
obtained1 and the nearer and more       
distinct view that he has reached1 of   
the realities of life4  ,he recollects  
the long noviciate that he served to    
reach this period1 the twenty years that
 he passed in ardent and palpitating    
expectation2 and he resolves to do      
something worthy of all he had vowed and
 had imagined4 ,he takes a full survey  
of his stores and endowments2 and to the
 latter1 from his enthusiasm and his    
self-love1 he is morally sure to do     
justice4 ,he says to himself1 ,what ,i  
purpose to do will not be achieved      
to-day4 ,no2 it shall be copious1 and   
worthy of men's suffrage and            
approbation4 ,but ,i will meditate it2  
,i will sketch a grand outline2 ,i will 
essay my powers in secret1 and ascertain
 what ,i may be able to effect4 ,the    

youth1 whose morning of life is not     
utterly abortive1 palpitates with the   
desire to promote the happiness of      
others1 and with the desire of glory4   
,we have an apt specimen of this in the 
first period of the reign of ,nero4 ,the
 historians1 ,tacitus in particular1    
have treated this with too much         
incredulity4 ,it was the passion of that
 eminent man to indulge in subtleties1  
and to find hidden meanings in cases    
where in reality every thing is plain4  
,we must not regard the panegyric of    
,seneca1 and the devotion of ,lucan to  
the imperial stripling1 as unworthy of  
our attention4 ,he was declared emperor 
before he had completed the eighteenth  
year of his age4 ,no occasion for the   
exhibition of liberality1 clemency1     
courtesy or kindness escaped him4 ,he   
called every one by his name1 and       
saluted all orders of men4 ,when the    
senate shewed a disposition to confer on
 him peculiar honours1 he interposed1 he
 said1 ,let them be bestowed when ,i    

have deserved them7#hc74 ,seneca        
affirms1 that in the first part of his  
reign1 and to the time in which the     
philosopher dedicated to him his        
treatise of ,clemency1 he had shed no   
drop of blood7#hd74 ,he adds1 ,if the   
,gods were this day to call thee to a   
hearing1 thou couldst account to them   
for every man that had been intrusted to
 thy rule4 ,not an individual has been  
lost from the number1 either by secret  
practices1 or by open violence4 ,this   
could scarcely have been1 if thy good   
dispositions had not been natural1 but  
assumed4 ,no one can long personate a   
character4 ,a pretended goodness will   
speedily give place to the real temper2 
while a sincere mind1 and acts prompted 
by the heart1 will not fail to go on    
from one stage of excellence to         
another7#he74      7#hc7 ,suetonius1    
,nero1 cap4 #aj4      7#hd7 ,de         
,clementia1 ,lib4 ,i1 cap4 ,,ii4        
7#he7 ,de ,clementia1 cap4 ,i4   ,the   
philosopher expresses himself in        

raptures on that celebrated phrase of   
,nero1 ,,would ,i ,,had ,,never         
,,learned ,,to ,,write6 ,an exclamation1
 he says1 not studied1 not uttered for  
the purpose of courting popularity1 but 
bursting insuppressibly from thy lips1  
and indicating the vehemence of the     
struggle between the kindness of thy    
disposition and the duties of thy       
office7#hf74      7#hf7 ,ibid41 ,lib4   
,,ii1 cap4 ,i4  ,how many generous      
purposes1 what bright and               
heart-thrilling visions of beneficence  
and honour1 does the young man1 just    
starting in the race of life1 conceive6 
,there is no one in that period of      
existence1 who has received a reasonable
 education1 and has not in his very     
nonage been trod down in the mire of    
poverty and oppression1 that does not   
say to himself1 ,now is the time2 and ,i
 will do something worthy to be         
remembered by myself and by others4     
,youth is the season of generosity4 ,he 
calls over the catalogue of his         

endowments1 his attainments1 and his    
powers1 and exclaims1 ,to that which ,i 
am1 my contemporaries are welcome2 it   
shall all be expended for their service 
and advantage4  ,with what disdain he   
looks at the temptations of selfishness1
 effeminate indulgence1 and sordid gain6
 ,he feels within himself that he was   
born for better things4 ,his elders1 and
 those who have already been tamed down 
and emasculated by the corrupt commerce 
of the world1 tell him1 ,all this is the
 rhapsody of youth1 fostered by         
inexperience2 you will soon learn to    
know better2 in no long time you will   
see these things in the same light in   
which we see them4 ,but he despises the 
sinister prognostic that is held out to 
him1 and feels proudly conscious that   
the sentiments that now live in his     
bosom1 will continue to animate him to  
his latest breath4  ,youth is           
necessarily ingenuous in its thoughts1  
and sanguine in its anticipations of the
 future4 ,but the predictions of the    

seniors ,i have quoted1 are             
unfortunately in too many cases         
fulfilled4 ,the outline of the scheme of
 civil society is in a high degree      
hostile to the growth and maturity of   
human virtue4 ,its unavoidable          
operation1 except in those rare cases   
where positive institutions have        
arrested its tendency1 has been to      
divide a great portion of its members1  
especially in large and powerful states1
 into those who are plentifully supplied
 with the means of luxury and           
indulgence1 and those who are condemned 
to suffer the rigours of indigence4     
,the young man who is born to the       
prospect of hereditary wealth1 will not 
unfrequently feel as generous emotions1 
and as much of the spirit of            
self-denial1 as the bosom of man is     
capable of conceiving4 ,he will say1    
,what am ,i1 that ,i should have a      
monopoly of those things1 which1 if well
 dispensed1 in unsuperfluous1 even      
proportion1 would supply the wants of   

all8 ,he is ready1 agreeably to the     
advice of ,christ to the young man in   
the ,gospel1 to sell all that he has1   
and give to the poor1 if he could be    
shewn how so generous a resolution on   
his part could be encountered with an   
extensive conspiracy of the             
well-disposed1 and rendered available to
 the real melioration of the state of   
man in society4 ,who is there so        
ignorant1 or that has lived in so barren
 and unconceiving a tract of the soil of
 earth1 that has not his tale to tell of
 the sublime emotions and the generous  
purposes he has witnessed1 which so     
often mark this beautiful era of our    
sublunary existence8  ,but this is in   
the dawn of life1 and the first         
innocence of the human heart4 ,when once
 the young man of great possessions has 
entered the gardens of ,alcina1 when he 
has drunk of the cup of her             
enchantments1 and seen all the delusive 
honour and consideration that1 in the   
corruptness of modern times1 are the lot

 of him who is the owner of considerable
 wealth1 the dreams of sublime virtue   
are too apt to fade away4 ,he was       
willing before1 to be nourished with the
 simplest diet1 and clad with the       
plainest attire4 ,he knew that he was   
but a man like the rest of his species1 
and was in equity entitled to no more   
than they4 ,but he presently learns a   
very different lesson4 ,he believes that
 he cannot live without splendour and   
luxury2 he regards a noble mansion1     
elegant vesture1 horses1 equipage1 and  
an ample establishment1 as things       
without which he must be hopelessly     
miserable4 ,that income1 which he once  
thought1 if divided1 would have secured 
the happiness and independence of many1 
he now finds scarcely sufficient to     
supply his increased and artificial     
cravings4  ,but1 if the rich are seduced
 and led away from the inspirations of  
virtue1 it may easily be conceived how  
much more injurious1 and beyond the     
power of control1 are the effects on the

 poor4 ,the mysterious source from which
 the talents of men are derived1 cannot 
be supposed in their distribution to be 
regulated by the artificial laws of     
society1 and to have one measure for    
those which are bestowed upon the       
opulent1 and another for the destitute4 
,it will therefore not seldom happen    
that powers susceptible of the noblest  
uses may be cast1 like seed sown upon   
stony places1 where they have scarcely  
any chance to be unfolded and matured4  
,in a few instances they may attract the
 attention of persons both able and     
willing to contribute to their being    
brought to perfection4 ,in a few        
instances the principle may be so       
vigorous1 and the tendency to excel so  
decisive1 as to bid defiance to and to  
conquer every obstacle4 ,but in a vast  
majority the promise will be made vain1 
and the hopes that might have been      
entertained will prove frustrate4 ,what 
can be expected from the buds of the    
most auspicious infancy1 if encountered 

in their earliest stage with the        
rigorous blasts of a polar climate8     
,and not only will the germs of         
excellence be likely to be extinguished 
in the members of the lower class of the
 community1 but the temptations to      
irregular acts and incroachments upon   
the laws for the security of property   
will often be so great1 as to be in a   
manner irresistible4 ,the man who       
perceives that1 with all his industry1  
he cannot provide for the bare          
subsistence of himself and those        
dependent upon him1 while his neighbour 
revels in boundless profusion1 cannot   
but sometimes feel himself goaded to an 
attempt to correct this crying evil4    
,what must be expected to become of that
 general good-will which is the natural 
inheritance of a well-constituted mind1 
when urged by so bitter oppression and  
such unendurable sufferings8 ,the whole 
temper of the human heart must be       
spoiled1 and the wine of life acquire a 
quality acrimonious and malignant4  ,but

 it is not only in the extreme classes  
of society that the glaring inequality  
with which property is shared produces  
its injurious effects4 ,all those who   
are born in the intermediate ranks are  
urged with a distempered ambition1      
unfavourable to independence of temper1 
and to true philanthropy4 ,each man     
aspires to the improvement of his       
circumstances1 and the mounting1 by one 
step and another1 higher in the scale of
 the community4 ,the contemplations of  
the mind are turned towards selfishness4
 ,in opulent communities we are         
presented with the genuine theatre for  
courts and kings4 ,and1 wherever there  
are courts1 duplicity1 lying1 hypocrisy 
and cringing dwell as in their proper   
field4 ,next come trades and            
professions1 with all the ignoble       
contemplations1 the resolved smoothness1
 servility and falshood1 by which they  
are enabled to gain a prosperous and    
triumphant career4  ,it is by such      
means1 that man1 whom ,god made upright1

 is led away into a thousand devious    
paths1 and1 long before the closing     
scene of his life1 is rendered something
 the very reverse of what in the dawning
 of existence he promised to be4 ,he is 
like ,hazael in the ,jewish history1    
who1 when the prophet set before him the
 crying enormities he should hereafter  
perpetrate1 exclaimed1 ,is thy servant a
 dog1 that he should degrade himself so 
vilely8 ,he feels the purity of his     
purposes2 but is goaded by one          
excitement and exasperation after       
another1 till he becomes debased1       
worthless and criminal4 ,this is        
strikingly illustrated in the story of  
,dr4 ,johnson and the celebrated        
,windham1 who1 when he was setting out  
as secretary to the lord lieutenant of  
,ireland1 expressed to his aged monitor1
 some doubts whether he could ever      
reconcile himself to certain indirect   
proceedings which he was afraid would be
 expected of him3 to which the veteran  
replied1 ,oh1 sir1 be under no alarm2 in

 a short time1 depend upon it1 you will 
make a very pretty rascal7#hg74         
7#hg7 ,the phrase here used by ,johnson 
is marked with the licentiousness we    
sometimes indulge in familiar           
conversation4 ,translate it into a      
general maxim2 and it contains much     
melancholy truth4 ,it is true also1 that
 there are few individuals1 who1 in the 
urgent realities of life1 have not      
occasionally descended from the heights 
of theoretical excellence4 ,it is but   
just however to observe in the case of  
,windham1 that1 though he was a man of  
many errors1 he was not the less        
characterised by high honour and eminent
 virtue4   ,such are the inventions of  
man1 or rather such is the operation of 
those institutions which ordinarily     
prevail in society4 ,still1 however1    
much honour ought to be rendered to our 
common nature1 since all of us are not  
led away by the potent spells of the    
enchantress4 ,if the vulgar crew of the 
vessel of ,ulysses were by ,circe       

changed into brutes1 so was not their   
commander4 ,the human species is divided
 into two classes1 the successfully     
tempted1 and the tempted in vain4 ,and1 
though the latter must be admitted to be
 a small minority1 yet they ought to be 
regarded as the salt of the earth1 which
 preserves the entire mass from         
putridity and dishonour4 ,they are like 
the remnant1 which1 if they had been to 
be found in the cities of the ,asphaltic
 lake1 the ,god of ,abraham pronounced  
as worthy to redeem the whole community4
 ,they are like the two witnesses amidst
 the general apostasy1 spoken of in the 
book of ,revelations1 who were the      
harbingers and forerunners of the       
millenium1 the reign of universal virtue
 and peace4 ,their excellence only      
appears with the greater lustre amidst  
the general defection4  ,nothing can be 
more unjust than the spirit of general  
levelling and satire1 which so          
customarily prevails4 ,history records1 
if you will1 the vices and follies of   

mankind4 ,but does it record nothing    
else8 ,are the virtues of the best men1 
the noblest philosophers1 and the most  
disinterested patriots of antiquity1    
nothing8 ,it is impossible for two      
things to be more unlike than the       
general profligacy of the reigns of     
,charles the ,second and ,louis the     
,fifteenth on the one hand1 and the     
austere virtues and the extinction of   
all private considerations in the       
general happiness and honour1 which     
constitute the spirit of the best pages 
of ancient history1 and which exalt and 
transfix the spirit of every ingenuous  
and high-souled reader1 on the other4   
,let us then pay to human virtue the    
honour that is so justly its due6       
,imagination is indeed a marvellous     
power2 but imagination never equalled   
history1 the achievements which man has 
actually performed4 ,it is in vain that 
the man of contemplation sits down in   
his closet2 it is in vain that the poet 
yields the reins to enthusiasm and      

fancy3 there is something in the        
realities of life1 that excites the mind
 infinitely more1 than is in the power  
of the most exalted reverie4 ,the true  
hero cannot1 like the poet1 or the      
delineator of fictitious adventures1 put
 off what he has to do till to-morrow4  
,the occasion calls1 and he must obey4  
,he sees the obstacles1 and the         
adversary he has to encounter1 before   
him4 ,he sees the individuals1 for whose
 dear sake he resolves to expose himself
 to every hazard and every evil4 ,the   
very circumstance1 that he is called on 
to act in the face of the public1       
animates him4 ,it is thus that          
resolution is produced1 that martyrdom  
is voluntarily encountered1 and that the
 deeds of genuine1 pure and undeniable  
heroism are performed4  ,let then no    
man1 in the supercilious spirit of a    
fancied disdain1 allow himself to       
detract from our common nature4 ,we are 
ourselves the models of all the         
excellence that the human mind can      

conceive4 ,there have been men1 whose   
virtues may well redeem all the contempt
 with which satire and detraction have  
sought to overwhelm our species4 ,there 
have been memorable periods in the      
history of man1 when the best1 the most 
generous and exalted sentiments have    
swallowed up and obliterated all that   
was of an opposite character4 ,and it is
 but just1 that those by whom these     
things are fairly considered1 should    
anticipate the progress of our nature1  
and believe that human understanding and
 human virtue will hereafter accomplish 
such things as the heart of man has     
never yet been daring enough to         
conceive4