trammels of fyftematic or academic rules, you will find more improvement, in a fhort time, from fuch a fociety, than from twenty years folitary study.

Some choose only to read on what they call the orthodox fide, that is, books in defence of thofe opinions which the bulk of people receive without examining. They conclude, a great number of people cannot be in the wrong. Others take for granted, that whatever is generally received, must be wrong. Such readers are fure to perufe whatever comes out against articles, or creeds, or religion in general. But they do not take the pains to give the defenders of them the hearing. And yet there is no doubt, but prejudice is equally wrong on either fide; and in our times, there are almost as many prejudiced againft, as in favour of, formerly-received opinions. There is nothing commendable in believing what is true, unlefs that belief be the effect of examination. Nor is there any merit in oppofing error, if fuch oppofition is accidental, and the effect of prejudice.

In establishing a fet of principles, moft people let themselves be biaffed by prejudice, paffion, education, fpiritual guides, common opinion, fuppofed orthodoxy, or almost any thing. And, after having been habituated to a particular way of thinking, which they took up without examination, they can no more quit it, than they can change the features of their faces, or the make of their perfons. To come at truth, one ought to begin with throwing out of his mind every attachment to either fide, and bringing himfelf to an abfolute indifference which is true, or which falfe. He who wishes an opinion to be true, is in danger of being mifled into the belief of it upon infuflicient grounds; and he who wifhes it to be falfe, is likely to reject it in fpite of fufficient evidence for its truth. To obferve fome men studying, reading, arguing, and writing wholly on one fide, without giving the other a fair hearing, making learning a party-affair, and ftirring up faction against truth, one would imagine, their minds were not made like thofe of moft rational beings, of which truth is the

proper

proper object; but that it gave them a pleasure to be deceived,

Though it is the business and the very character of a wife man, to examine both fides, to hear different opinions, and to fearch for truth even among the rubbish of error; yet there are numberless books, which I cannot think the shortnefs and uncertainty of life, which leaves no room for tedious trifling, will admit of examining with the care that must be bestowed in trying to find out the author's meaning, and to learn fomewhat from him. As fome writers, fo to fpeak, never go deep enough to draw blood of a fubject; fo others refine and fubtilize away all that the understanding can lay hold of. The logicians and metaphyficians, with their fubftantial forms, and intentional fpecies; the Malebranches and Behmens! What fruit there is to be got from reading fuch writers is, to me, inconceiveable. For the fate of all fuch refinements is, to be found partly unintelligible, partly abfurd, and partly of no manner of confequence toward the difcovery of any new truth.

Some men have the misfortune of an awkward, and, as it were, left-handed way of thinking and apprehending things. A great thought in fuch minds is not a great thought. For what is in itfelf clear and diftinct, to fuch men appears dim and confused. Those gentlemen are mightily given to finding difficulties in the cleareft points, and are great collectors of arguments pro and con. But their labours have no tendency to give either themfelves or others fatisfaction in any one fubject of inquiry. It seems to be their delight to darken, rather than enlighten.

Want of education, or of fo much culture as is neceffary for habituating the mind to wield its faculties, is the fame fort of difadvantage, for finding out and communicating intricate truth, as a raw recruit's never having learned the military exercife, is for his performing the movements properly in a review or a battle. It is therefore matter of compaffion to fee filly people, without the leaft improvement by education, without the advantage even of firft principles, ftriking flap-dafh at points of fcience, of which they do not fo much as understand

understand what it is they would affirm or deny; difputing and confuting against thofe, who have spent their lives in a particular ftudy; pretending, perhaps the first moment they ever thought of a fubject, to fee through the whole of it; taking upon them to make ufe of arguments, a fort of tools, which they have no more command of, than I thould of the helm of a ship, in a tempeft. The shortest way of finishing a dispute with people, who will be meddling with what you know to be out of their depth, is to tell them, what reading and study you have bestowed upon it, and that still you do not think yourself fufficiently mafter of the fubject. If your antagonist has any modefty, he must be fenfible, that it is arrogance in him to pretend, without all the neceffary advantages, to understand a subject better than one, who has had them.

Men of business, and men of pleasure, even if they have had their minds in their youth opened by education, and put in the way of acquiring knowledge, are generally found afterwards to lofe the habit of clofe thinking and reafoning. But no one is lefs capable of fearching into, or communicating truth, than he who has been from his earliest youth brought up, as most of the great are, in pleasure and folly.

There is no fingle obftacle, which ftands in the way of more people in the fearch of truth, than pride. They have once declared themfelves of a particular opinion; and they cannot bring themselves to think they could poffibly be in the wrong. Confequently they cannot perfuade themselves of the neceffity of fre-examining the foundations of their opinions. To acknowledge, and give up their error, would be a ftill feverer trial. But the truth is, there is more greatnefs of mind in candidly giving up a mistake, than would have appeared in escaping it at first, if not a very shameful one. The fureft way of avoiding error, is, careful examination. The best way of leaving room for a change of opinion, which fhould always be provided for, is to be modeft in delivering one's fentiments. A man may, without confufion, give up an opinion, which he declared without arrogance.

The

The cafe of thofe, whofe fecular interefts have engaged them to declare themselves of a certain party; where confcience is not allowed to fpeak loud enough to be heard on the fide of candid and diligent examination, is the most remedilefs of any. Thofe men have nothing for it but to find out plaufible arguments for their pre-established opinions, find themselves obliged not to examine whether their notions be true; but to. contrive ways and means to make them true in fpite of truth itself. If they happen to be in the right, fo much the better for them. If in an error, having fet out with their backs upon truth, the longer they travel, the farther they are from it; the more they ftudy, the more they are deceived.

There are fome men of no fettled way of thinking at all; but change opinions with every pamphlet they read. To get rid of this unmanly ficklenefs, the way is, to labour to furnish the mind early with a fet of rational well-grounded principles, which will, generally fpeaking, lead to reasonable confequences. Take for an example the following one among many: “The only

"end of a true religion must be to perfect the human "nature, and lead mankind to happiness." The reader muft perceive at once, that fuch a fundamental principle will ferve to discover and expofe almost all the errors and abfurdities of falfe religions, and those which may be introduced into the true. And fo of other general principles.

Artful declamations have often fatal effects in mifleading weak readers from the truth. A talent at oratory is therefore a very mifchievous weapon in the hands of an ill-difpofed man. It is the wisdom of a reader, when he has productions of genius put into his hands, to examine all the peculiar notions he finds in fuch writings, ftripping them of their ornaments to the bare thought; which, if it will ftand the test of cool reafon, is to be received; if not, the ftyle it is clothed in ought to gain it no favour; but it ought to be rejected with indignation. Wit, humour, and raillery, have done infinite mifchief among fuperficial readers. Of which talents fome authors have fuch a command

as

as to be capable of working up unthinking and unprincipled people to believe or practise whatever they please.

Strive to understand things as they are in themselves. Do not think of conceiving of them otherwife than according to their real natures. Do not labour to explain religion by chemistry, to reduce morals to mathematical certainty, or to think of eternal rectitude as an arbitrary or factitious conftitution. The nature of things will not be forced. Bring your understanding to them. Do not think of reducing them to your hypothefis; unless you be indifferent about true knowledge, and mean only to amuse yourself with a jeu d'esprit.

In reading, labour to get into the full fenfe of the author's principal terms, and the truths affirmed in his propofitions. After that, obferve whether he proves, or only affirms roundly; whether what he fays is built on fancy, or on truth, and the nature of things. And do not pretend to believe him one hair's breadth beyond what you understand: you cannot if you would., In converfation, or writing, if you mean to give or receive information, accurately define your terms. Keep to the original fenfe you affixed to them. Ufe no tautology. Think in time what objections may be made to what you are going to urge. Let truth be your fole view. Defpife the pleafure of conquering your antagonist. Pronounce modeftly, fo as to leave room for a retreat. Keep yourself fuperior to paffion and peevishnefs. Yield whatever you can, that your antagonist may fee you do not difpute for contention's fake. When you have argued the matter fully, and neither can bring over the other, drop the subject amicably, mutually agreeing to differ.

If you would thoroughly re-examine a fubject of importance, fancy it to be quite new to you, before you begin to inquire into it. Throw out of your mind all your former notions of it; and put yourfelf in the place of an honest Indian, to whom a miffionary is explaining the Chriftian religion. Take every fingle thought to pieces, and reduce every complex idea to