spirit. To draw a straight line, to describe a circle, by aim of hand only, there must be a great difference between an unsteady and unpractised hand, and a steady and practised one; but to do it by rule and compass is much alike.” "Nor must we omit to mention the value which the art of printing communicates to the most limited exertions of literary industry, by treasuring up as materials for the future examination of more enlightened inquirers. In this respect the prefs bestows upon the sciences an advantage somewhat analogous to that which the mechanical arts derive from the division of labour. As in these arts the exertions of an uninformed multitude are united by the comprehensive skill of the artist, in the accomplishment of effects, astonishing by their magnitude, and by the complicated ingenuity they display; so, in the sciences, the observations and conjectures of obscure individuals, on those subjects which are level to their capacities, and which fall under their own immediate notice, accumulate, for a course of years, till at last some philosopher arises, who combines these scattered materials, and exhibits in his system, not merely the force of a single mind, but the intellectual power of the age in which he lives. "It is upon these last considerations, much more than on the efforts of .original genius, that I would rest my hopes of the progrefs of the human race. What genius alone could accomplish in science, the world has already seen: And I am ready to subscribe to the opinion of those who think that the splendour of its past exertions is not likely to be obscured by the fame of future philosophers. But the experiment yet remains to be tried, what lights may be thrown on the most important of all subjects, by the free discussions of inquisitive nations, unfettered by prejudice, and stimulated in their inquiries by every motive that can awaken whatever is either generous or selfish in human nature. How trifling are the effects which the bodily strength of an individual is able to produce, (however great may be his natural endowments,) when compared with those which have been accomplished by the conspiring force of an ordinary multitude! It was not the single arm of a Theseus, or a Hercules, but the hands of men such as ourselves, that, in ancient Egypt, raised those monuments of architecture which remain from age to age to attest the wonders of combined and of persevering industry; and while they humble the importance of the individual, to exalt the dignity, and to animate the labours of the species. "These views, with respect to the probable improvement of the world, are so conducive to the comfort of those who entertain them, that, even although they were founded in delusion, a wise man would be disposed to cherish them. What should have induced some respectable writers to controvert them with so great an asperity of exprefsion, it is not easy to conjecture; for whatever may be thought of their truth, their practical tendency is surely favourable to human happiness; nor can that temper of mind, which disposes a man to give them a welcome reception, be candidly suspected of designs hostile to the interests of humanity. One thing is certain, that the greatest of all obstacles to the improvement of the world, is that prevailing belief of its improbability, which damps the exertions of so many individuals; and that, in proportion as the contrary opinion becomes general, it realises the event which it leads us to anticipate. Surely if any thing can have a tendency to call forth in the public service the exertions of individuals, it must be an idea of the magnitude of that work in which they are conspiring, and a belief of the permanence of those benefits which they confer, on mankind by every attempt to inform and enlighten them. As in ancient Rome, therefore, it was re garded, as the mark of a good citizen, never to despair of the fortunes of the republic; so the good citizen of the world, whatever may be the political aspect of his own times, will never despair of the fortunes of the human race; but will act upon the conviction, that prejudice, slavery, and corruption, must gradually give way to truth, liberty, and virtue; and that, in the moral world, as well as in the material, the farther our observations extend, and the longer they are continued, the more we fhall perceive of order and of benevolent design, in the universe. "Nor is this change in the condition of man, in consequence of the progress of reason, by any means, contrary to the general analogy of his natural history. In the in-. fancy of the individual, his existence is preserved by instincts, which disappear afterwards, when they are no longer necessary. In the savage state of our species, there are instincts which seem to form a part of the human constitution, and of which no traces remain in those periods of society in which their use is superseded by a more enlarged experience. Why then should we deny the probability of something similar to this in the history of man, considered in his political capacity? I have already had occasion to observe, that the governments which the world has hitherto seen, have seldom or never taken their rise from deep laid schemes of human policy. In every state of society which has yet existed, the multitude has, in general, acted from the immediate impulse of pafsion, or from the pressure of their wants and necefsities; and therefore what we commonly call the political order, is, at least in a great measure, the result of the passions and wants of man, combined with the circumstances of his situation; or, in other words, it is chiefly the result of the wisdom of nature. So beautifully, indeed, do these passions and circumstances act in subserviency to her designs; and so Aug. 1. invariably have they been found, in the history of past ages, to conduct men, in time, to certain beneficial arrangements, that we can hardly bring ourselves to believe, that the end was not foreseen by those who were engaged in the pursuit. Even in those rude periods of society, when, like the lower animals, he follows blindly his instinctive principles of action, he is led by an invisible hand, and contributes his share to the execution of a plan, of the nature and advantages of which he has no conception. The operations of the Bee, when it begins for the first time' to form its cell, conveys to us a striking image of the efforts of unenlightened man, in conducting the operations ia an infant government. I am, Sir," &c. ALBANICUS. EXERCISES IN PRACTICAL GRAMMAR. Dictionary. GREAT, adj. A relative word, denoting largenefs of quan-" tity, number, terms with which it is combined. Opposed to small or little. The principal circumstances in which this word can be employed are the following: c, serving to augment the value of those 1. When merely inanimate objects are considered with regard to quantity, great is with propriety employed to denote that that quantity is considerable; as a great mountain, a great house, &c. and it is here contrasted with small. When great is thus employed we have no other word that is exactly synonymous. 2. When inanimate objects are considered with regard to their extent, this term is sometimes employed, although with lefs propriety; as a great field, a great plain, &c.' In this sense it is nearly synonymous with large; and they' are often used indiscriminately, but with some difference of meaning; for as large is a term chiefly employed to denote 表 superficies, and as great more particularly regards the quantity of matter, therefore, when large is applied to any object, which is not merely superficial, it denotes that it is the extent of surface that is there meant to be considered, without regard to the other dimensions; whereas when the term great is employed, it has a reference to the whole contents. If therefore we say a large house, or a large river, we express that the river or the house have a surface of great extent, without having any necefsary connection with the size in other respects: but if we say a great house, or a great river, it at once denotes that they have not only a large surface, but are also of great size in every respect. 3. GREAT, when applied to the human species, never denotes the size or largeness of the body, but is applied solely to the qualities of the mind. Thus when we say that Socrates was a great man, we do not mean that he was a man of great size, but that he was a man who excelled in the endowments of the mind... The terms which denote largeness of size in the human body, are big, bulky, buge, &c.. 4. GREAT is sometimes applied to the human species. as denoting high rank. In this case it is oftener used in the plural number than otherwise; thus we say the great, meaning the whole body of men in high station, as opposed to mean. It should seldom be employed in this sense, as it tends to confound dignity of rank with .elevation of mind. . 5. As this is a general term of augmentation, it may be joined with all nouns which denote quantity, quality, number, excellence, or defects; or such as imply praise, blame, anger, contempt, or any other affection of the mind. 6. It is employed to denote every step of ascending or descending consanguinity, as great grandfather, great grandson, &c. |