Independence of judgment is one of the rarest things in the world; and the prevailing defect in education, is the neglect of the judgment or reasoning faculties. The consequence is, that among those who are regarded as well-educated, few are capable of comprehending or discussing an extensive or complicated question.

Madness is much more common than is generally supposed, and seems by no means incompatible with the vigorous exercise of the intellectual faculties.

The sensations of the mind are often of so subtle and complicated a nature, that to analyze them, no ordinary discrimination and practice are required. There are thousands of feelings, of which the elements, if not the causes, lie almost totally concealed from the subjects of them.

It is not uncommon to possess a thirst for particular departments of knowledge; but the mind is scarcely in a proper tone, unless facts and information, of every kind, be objects of interest.

Brutes exhibit almost every indication of mind that can be found in man; as, memory, judgment, imagination, gratitude, friendship, revenge, &c. together with a capacity for progressive advancement, and an adaptation to circumstances of those

The study of man is one of the most important, yet least agreeable objects of attention.

Is it better to wait for ideas to arise spontaneously, or to strike out thought by application to some particular subject? With imaginative minds, the former course may be preferable; the latter, with those which are argumentative. The pre

valent authorship is certainly not owing to voluntary gifts of intellect.

Throughout the system of animated nature, little proportion is observable between compass of mind, and that of the frame which it inhabits. There are more indications of thought and contrivance in a bee, for instance, than in a lion or an elephant. Among human beings, the diminutive in body are often the largest in soul. With the brute creation, in particular, the degree of understanding seems regulated by the purposes, not the dimensions, of the bodies which they possess.

How many subjects that deserve investigation, will every person, when he comes to die, be necessitated to leave unexplored!

If an active mind were restricted to the barren details of an ordinary dictionary, it would discover

abundant materials for reflection, and even for the exercise of imagination.

The discovery of new ideas is not essential to the character of mental originality. A certain juxta-position and combination of well-known truths, will often supply unquestionable proof of decided originality and genius.

Some minds gather strength from slight and imperceptible causes, as trees occasionally flourish almost on the naked rock.

The sciences of which the study affords the greatest exercise to the mind, are not those whose principles are the most fixed and unquestionable, as for instance, natural philosophy, or mathematics; but such as are connected with a degree of fluctuation, and require the balancing of probabilities, as political or mental philosophy, ethics, &c.

Some of the best things, in almost every department of literature, have been produced with the fewest external helps..

To attain a correct, especially a comparative estimate of different things, it is often necessary to contemplate them at a considerable distance, and after the mind has lost the impressions which

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it may have received from any one in particular; as, in forming an opinion of the general qualities of a landscape, we do not confine attention to separate objects, but survey the whole in their combined appearance, and under a certain remoteness of aspect.

Minute accuracy is requisite on few subjects, and is almost incompatible with general and extensive knowledge.

Amidst the multiplicity of books and sciences that solicit our notice, the most compendious and effectual method is, to study any particular topic in works where it is systematically and fully treated. There will afterwards be little occasion to consult other treatises on the subject, as a slight inspection of those parts only which profess to contain any new discoveries, will be amply sufficient.

It is a mistaken idea, that the mass of mankind, who pass their lives in ordinary and active pursuits, are destitute of education. Most of the objects and affairs which are brought under their notice, demand the exercise of some judgment and discrimination; so that the mind is often more invigorated and sharpened by this species of education, than by that which is obtained almost exclusively through the medium of books.

All affect to applaud the repeated perusal of the best productions, yet few adopt the practice, It may be doubted whether the omission is deserving of censure, and whether the mind is not more benefited by entering on new fields of inquiry, than by minute familiarity with any subject or any writer.

How little do the brute or insect parts of the creation know of man, his character, feelings, or pursuits! Probably our capacities are as narrow, and our minds as dark, in reference to the universe at large.

No kind of study or inquiry into fact, is a proper object of contempt.

There is little wisdom in urging persons generally to aim at intellectual eminence. This is not necessary for the interests of literature, as an ample fund of mental wealth has been already contributed by others. Much less is it required in the ordinary purposes of life, for which a very small share of intellectual merit is sufficient. What is principally desirable, is a little practical sense, in conjunction with moral principle.

The advice is unsound, as well as impracticable, which recommends that our time be always occupied with some industrious, or at least specific