"Some are quickly convinced of the truth of any doctrine, when he that proposes it puts on all the airs of piety, and makes solemn appeals to heaven, and protestations of the truth of it: the pious mind of a weaker Christian is ready to receive anything that is pronounced with such an awful solemnity.

It is a prejudice near akin to this, when a humble soul is frighted into any particular sentiments of religion, because a man of great name or character pronounces heresy upon the contrary sentiments, casts the disbeliever out of the church, and forbids him the gates of heaven.

"Others are allured into particular opinions by gentler practices on the understanding; not only the soft tempers of mankind, but even hardy and rugged souls, are sometimes led away captives to error by the soft air of address, and the sweet and engaging methods of persuasion and kindness. . .

"There is another manner of proposing our own opinion, or rather opposing the opinions of others, which demands a mention here, and that is when persons make a jest serve instead of an argument; when they refute what they call error by a turn of wit, and answer every objection against their own sentiments, by casting a sneer upon the objector. These scoffers practise with success upon weak and cowardly spirits: such as have not been well established in religion or morality, have been laughed out of the best principles by a confident buffoon; they have yielded up their opinions to a witty banter, and sold their faith and religion for a jest.

"There is no way to cure these evils in such a degenerate world as we live in, but by learning to distinguish well between the substance of any doctrine, and the manner of address, either in proposing, attacking, or defending it; and then by setting a just and severe guard of reason and conscience over all the exercises of our judgment, resolving to yield to nothing but the convincing evidence of truth, religiously obeying the light of reason in matters of pure reason, and the dictates of revelation in things that relate to our faith."

5. Independence of mind implies exemption from the influence of association::

A court lady, born and bred up amongst pomp and equipage, and the vain notions of birth and quality, constantly joins and mixes all these with the idea of herself, and she imagines these to be essential to her nature, and as it were necessary to her being: thence she is tempted to look upon menial servants, and the lowest rank of mankind, as another species of beings, quite distinct from herself. A plough-boy, that has never travelled beyond his own village, and has seen nothing but thatched houses,

and his parish church, is naturally led to imagine that thatch belongs to the very nature of a house, and that that must be a church which is built of stone, and especially if it has a spire upon it. A child whose uncle has been excessive fond, and his schoolmaster very severe, easily believes that fondness always belongs to uncles, and that severity is essential to masters or instructors. He has seen also soldiers with red coats, or ministers with long black gowns, and therefore he persuades himself that these garbs are essential to the characters, and that he is not a minister who has not a long black gown, nor can he be a soldier who is not dressed in red. It would be well if all such mistakes ended with childhood.

"When we have just reason to admire a man for his virtues, we are sometimes inclined not only to neglect his weaknesses, but even to put a good colour upon them, and to think them amiable. When we read a book that has many excellent truths in it, and divine sentiments, we are tempted to approve not only that whole book, but even all the writings of that author. When a poet, an orator, or a painter, has performed admirably in several illustrious pieces, we sometimes also admire his very errors, we mistake his blunders for beauties, and are so ignorantly fond as to copy after

them..

"This sort of prejudice is relieved by learning to distinguish things well, and not to judge in the lump. There is scarce anything in the world of nature or art, in the world of morality or religion, that is perfectly uniform. There is a mixture of wisdom and folly, vice and virtue, good and evil, both in men and things. We should remember that some persons have great wit and little judgment; others are judicious, but not witty. Some are good humoured without compliment; others have all the formalities of complaisance, but no good humour. We ought to know that one man may be vicious and learned, while another has virtue without learning. That many a man thinks admirably well, who has a poor utterance; while others have a charming manner of speech, but their thoughts are trifling and impertinent. Some are good neighbours, and courteous, and charitable toward men, who have no piety towards God; others are truly religious, but of morose natural tempers. Some excellent sayings are found in very silly books, and some silly thoughts appear in books of value. We should neither praise or dispraise by wholesale, but separate the good from the evil, and judge of them apart; the accuracy of a good judgment consists much in making such distinctions."

SECTION V.

THE KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY TO THE ART OF REASONING.

I NEED hardly observe that to reason well, you must have common sense. This can be obtained only from Nature. While learning will increase your information, extend your range of inquiry, and unlock new sources of the most refined pleasure, it will not give you common sense. Nor does it appear that this common sense is ever much improved by learning. As is the child in this respect, so is the man. It is possible to have a strong memory and a weak understanding. Fools have become learned, and still have remained fools. Men of vast erudition have shown themselves weak in judgment, even in regard to those branches of knowledge in which they have obtained distinction—and miserably deficient in the ordinary affairs of life. It is only by common sense that we can reason, and can judge of the soundness of our reasonings. This power or faculty of the mind is not sparingly bestowed. It is given to almost every man, and to an extent that is found adequate for all the functions he is called upon to discharge. Common sense has been

good sense in every age of the world.

Presuming, then, gentle reader, that you are endowed with common sense, I will proceed to show you what further is required to enable you to reason well. Our instructions will be taken chiefly from the Logic of Dr. Watts.

1. To reason well, you must understand the subjects that you reason about.

Go to the market-place, and listen to the conversation between the buyers and the sellers. How readily the sellers advance arguments to show that their goods are very cheap, and how promptly the buyers answer these arguments, and strongly argue on the other side. how is it that these uneducated people are enabled to argue so forcibly and so fluently? It is that they un

Now

derstand what they are talking about. And this must be the first step in all our reasonings.

We begin, therefore, by stating clearly what is the subject of discussion: and this is called giving a definition of it:

"In order to form a definition of anything, we must put forth these three acts of the mind.

"First, Compare the thing to be defined with other things that are most like itself, and see wherein its essence or nature agrees with them and this is called the general nature or genus in a definition so if you would define what wine is, first compare it with other things like itself, as cider, perry, &c., and you will find it agrees essentially with them in this, that it is a sort of juice. Secondly, Consider the most remarkable and primary attribute, property, or idea wherein this thing differs from those other things that are most like it; and that is its essential or specific difference: so wine differs from cider and perry, and all other juices, in that it is pressed from a grape. This may be called its special nature, which distinguishes it from other juices.

Thirdly, Join the general and special nature together, or (which is all one) the genus and the difference, and these make up a definition. So the juice of a grape, or juice pressed from grapes, is the definition of wine.

"So if I would define what winter is, I consider first wherein it agrees with other things which are most like it, namely, summer, spring, autumn, and I find they are all seasons of the year; therefore a season of the year is the genus. Then I observe wherein it differs from these, and that is in the shortness of the days; for it is this which does primarily distinguish it from other seasons; therefore this may be called its special nature, or its difference. Then by joining these together, I make a definition. Winter is that season of the year wherein the days are shortest."

But everything cannot be defined in this formal manner, and we may adopt any mode of expression we please, provided it will convey to others a correct description of what we mean. Thus we may say

"Motion is a change of place. Swiftness is the passing over a long space in a short time. A natural day is the time of one alternate revolution of light and darkness, or it is the duration of twenty-four hours. An eclipse of the sun is a defect in the sun's transmission of light to us by the moon interposing. Snow is congealed vapour. Hail is congealed rain. An island is a piece of land rising above the surrounding water. A hill is an elevated part of the earth, and a grove is a piece of ground thick set with trees. A house is a building made to dwell in. A

cottage is a mean house in the country. A supper is that meal which we make in the evening. A triangle is a figure composed of three sides. A gallon is a measure containing eight pints. A porter is a man who carries burthens for hire. A king is the chief ruler in a kingdom. Veracity is the conformity of our words to our thoughts. Covetousness is an excessive love of money, or other possessions. Killing is the taking away the life of an animal. Murder is the unlawful killing of a man. Rhetoric is the art of speaking in a manner fit to persuade. Natural philosophy is the knowledge of the properties of bodies, and the various effects of them, or it is the knowledge of the various appearances in nature, and their causes; and logic is the art of using our reason well, &c."

2. To reason well, you must clearly understand what is asserted about the subject.

A proposition is a sentence wherein two or more ideas or terms are joined or disjoined by one affirmation or negation; as, 'Plato was a philosopher: every angle is formed by two lines meeting: no man living on earth can be completely happy.' When there are ever so many ideas or terms in the sentence, yet if they are joined or disjoined merely by one single affirmation or negation, they are properly called but one proposition, though they may be resolved into several propositions which are implied therein, as will appear hereafter.

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There are three things which go to the nature and constitution of a proposition; namely, the subject, the predicate, and the copula.

"The subject of a proposition is that concerning which anything is affirmed or denied: So 'Plato, angle, man living on earth,' are the subjects of the foregoing propositions.

"The predicate is that which is affirmed or denied of the subject so philosopher' is the predicate of the first proposition; formed by two lines meeting,' is the predicate of the second; 'capable of being completely happy,' the proper predicate of the third.

"The subject and predicate of a proposition taken together, are called the matter of it; for these are the materials of which it is made.

"The copula is the form of a proposition; it represents the act of the mind affirming or denying, and it is expressed by the words, am, art, is, are, &c.; or am not, art not, is not, are not, &c.

"The subject and predicate of a proposition, are not always to be known and distinguished by the placing of the words in the sentence, but by reflecting duly on the sense of the words, and on the mind or design of the speaker or writer: as if I say, In Africa there are many lions, I mean many lions are existent in