read it, we may propose it to an ingenious correspondent when we see him; we may be relieved in a moment, and find the difficulty vanish: he beholds the object perhaps in a different view, sets it before us in quite another light, and leads us at once into evidence and truth, and that with a delightful surprise.

4. "Conversation calls out into light what has been lodged in all the recesses and secret chambers of the soul:" by occasional hints and incidents it brings old useful notions into remembrance; it unfolds and displays the hidden treasures of knowledge with which reading, observation and study had before furnished the mind. By mutual discourse the soul is awakened and allured to bring forth its hoards of knowledge, and it learns how to render them most useful to mankind. A man of vast reading without conversation, is like a miser who lives only to himself. 5. In free and friendly conversation our “intellectual powers are more animated, and our spirits act with a superior vigour in the quest and pursuit of unknown truths." There is a sharpness and sagacity of truth that attends conversation, beyond what we find whilst we are shut up reading and musing in our retirements. Our souls may be serene in solitude, but not sparkling, though perhaps we are employed in reading the works of the brightest writers. Often has it happened in free discourse, that new thoughts are strangely struck out, and the seeds of truth sparkle and blaze through the company, which in calm and silent reading would never have been excited. By conversation you will both give and receive this benefit; as flints when put into motion and Striking against each other, produce living fire on both sides, which would never have risen from the same hard materials in a state of rest.

6. In generous conversation, amongst ingenious and learned men, we have a great advantage of proposing our private opinions, and of "bringing our own sentiments to the test," and learning in a more compendious and a safer way, what the world will judge of them, how mankind will receive them, what objections may be raised against them, what defects there are in our scheme, and how to correct our own mistakes; which advantages are not so easy to be obtained by our own private meditations: for the pleasure we take in our own notions, and the passion of self-love, as well as the narrowness of our own views, tempt us to pass too favourable an opinion on our own sehemes; whereas the variety of genius in our several associates, with give happy notices how our opinion will stand in the view of mankind.

7. It is also another considerable advantage of conversation, that it furnishes the student with the knowledge of men and the affairs of life as reading furnishes him with book-learning. A man who dwells ail

his days among books may have amassed together a vast heap of notions, but he may be a mere scholar, which is a contemptible sort of character in the world. A hermit who has been shut up in his cell in a college has contracted a sort of mould and rust upon his soul, and all his airs of behaviour have a certain aukwardness in them; but these aukward airs are worn away by degrees in company: the rust and the mould are filed and brushed off by polite conversation: The scholar now becomes a citizen or a gentleman, a neighbour and a friend; he learns how to dress his sentiments in the fairest colours, as well as to set them in the strongest light. Thus he brings out his notions with honour, he makes some use of them in the world, and improves the theory by the practice.

But before we proceed too far in finishing a bright character by conversation, we should consider that something else is necessary besides an acquaintance with men and books: and therefore I add,

V. MERE lecture, reading, and conversation, without thinking, are not sufficient to make a man of knowledge and wisdom. It is our own thought, and reflection, study and meditation, must attend all the other methods of improvement, and perfect them. It carries these advantages with it:

1. Though observation and instruction, reading and conversation may furnish us with many ideas of men and things, yet it is our own meditation and the labour of our own thoughts that must form our judgment of things. Our own thoughts should join or disjoin these ideas in a proposition for ourselves: it is our own mind that must judge for ourselves concerning the agreement or disagreement of ideas, and form propositions of truth out of them. Reading and conversation may acquaint us with many truths and with many arguments to support them, but it is our own study and reasoning that must determine whether these propositions are true, and whether these arguments are just and solid.

It is confest there are a thousand things which our eyes have not seen, and which would never come within the reach of our personal and immediate knowledge and observation, because of the distance of times and places: These must be known by consulting other persons, and that is done either in their writings or in their discourses. But after all, let this be a fixed point with us, that it is our own reflection and judgment must determine how far we should receive that which books or men inform us of, and how far they are worthy of our assent and credit. 2. It is meditation and study that "transfers and conveys the notions and sentiments of others to ourselves," so as to make them properly our own. It is our own judgment upon them as well as our memory

of them, that makes them become our own property. It does as it were conduct our intellectual food, and turns it into a part of ourselves: just as a man may call his limbs and his flesh bis own, whether he borrowed the materials from the ox or the sheep, from the lark or the lobster; whether he derived it from corn or milk, the fruits of the trees, or the herbs and roots of the earth; it is all now become one substance with himself, and he weilds and manages those muscles and limbs for his own proper purposes, which once were the substance of other animals or vegetables; that very substance which last week was grazing in the field or swimming in the sea, waving in the milk-pail or growing in the garden, is now become part of the

man.

3. By study and meditation, we improve the hints that we have acquired by observation, conversation and reading; we take more time in thinking, and by the labour of the mind we penetrate deeper into themes of knowledge, and carry our thoughts sometimes much farther on many subjects, than we ever met with either in the books of the dead or discourses of the living. It is our own reasoning that draws out one truth from another, and forms a whole scheme of science from a few hints which we borrowed elsewhere.

By a survey of these things we may justly conclude, that he who spends all his time in hearing lectures, or poring upon books, without observation, meditation or converse, will have but a mere historical knowledge of learning, and be able only to tell what others have known or said on the subject: he that lets all his time flow away in conversation, without due observation, reading, or study, will gain but a slight and superficial knowledge, which will be in danger of vanishing with the voice of the speaker; and he that confines himself merely to his closet and his own narrow observation of things, and is taught only by his own "solitary thoughts, without instruction by lectures, reading, or free conversation," will be in danger of a narrow spirit, a vain conceit of himself, and an unreasonable contempt of others; and after all, he will obtain but a very limited and imperfect view and knowledge of things and he will seldom learn how to make that knowledge

useful.

These five methods of improvement should be pursued jointly, and go hand in hand where our circumstances are so happy as to find opportunity and conveniency to enjoy them all: though I must give my opinion, that two of them, reading and meditation, should employ much more of our time than public lectures or conversation and discourse. As for observation we may be always acquiring knowledge that way, whether we are alone or in company.

But it will be for our further improvement, if we will go over all these five methods of obtaining knowledge more distinctly, and more at large, and see what special advances in useful science we may draw from them all.

CHA P. III.

RULES RELATING TO OBSERVATION.

THOUGH observation in the strict sense of the word, and it is distin

guished from meditation and study,is the first means of our improvement and in its strictest sense does not include in it any reasonings of the mind upon the things which we observe, or inferences drawn from them; yet the motions of the mind are so exceeding swift, that it is hardly possible for a thinking man to gain experiences or observations, without making some secret and short reflections upon them; and therefore in giving a few directions concerning this method of improvement, I shall not so narrowly confine myself to the first mere impressions of objects on the mind by observation; but include also some hints which relate to the first, most easy, and obvious reflections or reasonings which arise from them.

I. Let "the enlargement of your knowledge be one constant view and design in life; since there is no time or place, no transactions occurrences or engagements in life, which excludes us from this method of improving the mind." When we are alone, even in darkness and silence, we may converse with our own hearts, observe the working of our own spirits, and reflect upon the inward motions of our own passions in some of the latest occurrences in life; we may acquaint ourselves with the powers and properties, the tendencies and inclinations both of body and spirit, and gain a more intimate knowledge of ourselves. When we are in company we may discover something more of human nature, of human passions and follies, and of human affairs, vices and virtues, by conversing with mankind, and observing their conduct. Nor is there any thing more valuable than the knowledge of ourselves, and the knowledge of men, except it be the knowledge of God who made us, and our relation to him as our governor.

When we are in the house or the city, wheresoever we turn our eyes, we see the works of men; when we are abroad in the country, we behold more of the works of God. The skies and the ground above and beneath us, and the animal and vegetable world round about us, may entertain our observation with ten thousand varieties.

Endeavour therefore to "derive some instruction or improvement of the mind from every thing which you see or hear, from

every thing which occurs in human life, from every thing within you or without you."

Fetch down some knowledge from the clouds, the stars, the sun, the moon, and the revolution of all the planets; dig and draw up some valuable meditations from the depths of the earth, and search them through the vast oceans of water; extract some intellectual improvements from the minerals and metals; from the wonders of nature among the vegetables, the berbs, trees, and flowers. Learn some lessons from the birds, and the beasts, and the meanest insect. Read the wisdom of God and his admirable contrivance in them all. Read his almighty power, his rich and various goodness in all the works of his hands,

From the day and the night, the hours and the flying minutes, learn a wise improvement of time, and be watchful to seize every opportunity to increase in knowledge.

From "the vicissitudes and revolutions of nations and families," and from the "various occurrences of the world," learn the instability of mortal affairs, the uncertainty of life, the certainty of death. From a coffia and a funeral learn to meditate upon you own depar

ture.

From the vices and follies of others, observe what is hateful in them; consider how such a practice looks in another person, and remember that it looks as ill or worse in yourself. From the virtues of others learn something worthy of your imitation.

From the deformity, the distress, or calamity of others, derive lessoas of thankfulness to God, and hymns of grateful praise to your Creator, governor, and benefactor, who has formed you in a better mould, and guarded you from those evils. Learn also the sacred lesson of con-tentment in your own estate, and compassion to your neighbour under his miseries.

From your "natural powers, sensations, judgment, memory, hands, feet,&c." make this inference, that they were not given you for nothing, but for some useful employment to the honour of your Maker, and for the good of your fellow-creatures, as well as for your own best interest and final happiness.

From the serrrows, the pains, the sicknesses and sufferings that attend you, learn the evil of sin, and the imperfection of your present state. From your own sins and follies, learn the patience of God toward you, and the practice of humility toward God and men.

Thus from every appearance in nature, and from every occurrence of life, you may derive natural, moral and religious observations to en

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