own; and often either subdue the natives, or drive them into the most unfruitful corners.-Swift.

DCCCLXXXVIII.

Origin of the Love of Fame.-Our opinions of all kinds are strongly affected by society and sympathy; and it is almost impossible for us to support any principle or sen timent against the universal consent of every one with whom we have any friendship or correspondence. But of all our opinions, those, which we form in our own favour, however lofty or presuming, are at the bottom the frailest, and the most easily shaken by the contradiction and op. position of others. Our great concern in this case, makes us soon alarmed, and keeps our passions upon the watch; our consciousness of partiality still makes us dread a mistake. And the very difficulty of judging concerning an object, which is never set at a due distance from us, nor is seen in a proper point of view, makes us hearken anxiously to the opinions of others, who are better qualified to form just opinions concerning us. Hence that strong love of fame with which all mankind are possessed. It is in order to fix and confirm their favourable opinion of themselves, not from any original passion, that they seek the applause of others. And when a man desires to be praised, it is for the same reason that a beauty is pleased with surveying herself in a favourable looking-glass, and seeing the reflection of her own charms.-Hume.

DCCCLXXXIX.

Instruction and Amusement are more blended than the world in general is apt to imagine. Uninstructive amusement may be afforded for a moment by a passing jest or a

iudicrous anecdote, by which no knowledge is conveyed to the mind of the hearer or reader: but the man who would amuse others for an hour, either by his writing or his conversation, must tell his hearers or his readers some. thing that they do not know, or suggest to them some new reflexion upon the knowledge they have previously acquired. The more the knowledge bears upon their pursuits, upon their occupations, or upon their interests, the more attractive it will be, and the more entitled to be called useful.

DCCCXC.

Equality. It is one of the most important objects of government, to prevent an extreme inequality of fortunes; not by taking away the wealth of the possessors, but in depriving them of means to accumulate them; not by building hospitals for the poor, but by preventing the citi zens from becoming poor. The unequal distribution of the inhabitants of a country, some being thinly scattered over a large tract of land, while others are assembled together in crowds in cities; the encouragement of the agreeable instead of the useful arts; the sacrifice of agriculture to commerce; the mal-administration of the finances; and, in short, that excess of venality which sets public esteem at a pecuniary value, and rates even virtue at a market price. These are all the most obvious causes of opulence and of poverty; of the public interest; the mutual hatred of the citizens; their indifference for the common cause; the corruption of the people; and the weakening of all the springs of government.-Rousseau.

DCCCXCI.

Advantages of the Diffusion of Knowledge-An intelligent class can scarce ever be, as a class, vicious: never, as a class, indolent. The excited mental activity operates as a counterpoise to the stimulus of sense and appetite. The new world of ideas, the new views of the relations of things; the astonishing secrets of the physical properties and mechanical powers, disclosed to the well-informed mind, present attractions, which, unless the character is deeply sunk, are sufficient to counterbalance the taste for frivolous or corrupt pleasures; and thus, in the end, a standard of character is created in the community, which, though it does not invariably save each individual, protects the virtue of the mass.-Everett,

DCCCXC11.

Books. Let us consider how great a commodity of doctrine exists in books; how easily, how secretly, how safely they expose the nakedness of human ignorance without putting it to shame. These are the masters who instruct us without rods and ferrules, without hard words and anger, without clothes or money. If you approach them, they are not asleep; if investigating you interrogate them, they conceal nothing; if you mistake them, they never grumble; if you are ignorant, they cannot laugh at you. -Philobiblion, by Richard de Bury.

DCCCXCIII.

Bias of the Mind respecting the Future.-The common bias of the mind undoubtedly is (such is the benevolent appointment of Providence,) to think favourable of the

future; to overvalue the chances of possible good, and underrate the risks of possible evil: and in the case of some fortunate individuals, this disposition remains after a thousand disappointments. To what this bias of our nature is owing, it is not material for us to inquire; the fact is certain, and it is an important one to our happiness. It supports us under the real distresses of life, and cheers and animates all our labours: and although it is sometimes apt to produce, in a weak and indolent mind, those deceitful suggestions of ambition and vanity, which lead us to sacrifice the duties and comforts of the present moment to romantic hopes and expectations: yet it must be acknowledged, when connected with habits of activity, and regulated by a solid judgment, to have a favourable effect on the character by inspiring that ardour and enthusiasm which both prompt to great enterprises, and are necessary to ensure their success. When such a temper is united (as it commonly is) with pleasing notions, concerning the order of the universe, and in particular concerning the condition and the prospects of man, it places our happiness, in a great measure, beyond the power of fortune. While it adds a double relish to every enjoyment, it blunts the edge of all our sufferings; and even when human life presents to us no object on which our hopes can rest, it invites the imagination beyond the dark and troubled horizon which terminates all our carthly prospects, to wander unconfined in the regions of futurity. A man of benevolence, whose mind is enlarged by philosophy, will indulge the same agreeable anticipations with respect to society; will view all the different improvements in arts, in commerce, and in the sciences, as co-operating to promote the union, the happiness, and the virtue of mankind; and, amidst the political disorders re

sulting from the prejudices and follies of his own times, will look forward with transport to the blessings which are reserved for prosperity in a more enlightened age.— Dugald Stewart.

DCCCXCIV.

Perfectibility of Man.-It is evident that nature has made man susceptible of experience, and consequently more and more perfectible; it is absurd then to wish to arrest him in his course, in spite of the eternal law which impels him forward.-Du Marsais.

DCCCXCV.

Abuse of Words.—One of the most powerful instruments of vice, the most fatal of all its poisoned weapons, is the abuse of words, by which good and bad feeling are blended together, and its deformity concealed, from an apparent alliance to some proximate virtue. Prodigality and dissipation are liberality and high spirit. Covetousness, frugality. Flattery, good breeding. As society advances in civilization, the power of this engine does not diminish. To give harsh deeds soft names is one of the evils of refinement. In preventing this confusion; in preventing this abuse of words; in sustaining a high tone of moral feeling, by giving harsh names to harsh deeds, the preservation of the boundaries between virtue and vice mainly depends.-Basil Montagu.

DCCCXCVI.

Physiological ignorance is undoubtedly, the most abundant source of our sufferings: every person accustomed