the spirit of a man, could take pleasure in profeffions of good-will, which he knew to be infincere? Who, that is not confcious of some baseness in himself, could seriously imagine, that mankind in general might be rendered fufceptible of fuch pleasure? I fpeak not now of the immorality of that new fyftem; which, if I were inclined to fay of it what I think, would give deeper, as well as louder, tones to my language; I fpeak only of its abfurdity and folly. And abfurd, and foolish, in the extreme, as well as wicked, must every system be, that aims to disjoin, delicacy from virtue, or virtue from religion. Let us not imagine, because the influence of religion is not fo powerful as it ought to be, that therefore it is not powerful at all. What human creatures would have been at this day, if the light of the gospel had not yet arifen upon the earth, we cannot pofitively tell but were this a proper place for explaining the ground of fuch a conjecture, I think I could demonftrate the reasonableness of fuppofing, that they must have been, beyond all comparifon, more wretched than they are. At a time, when it was debased by the most lamentable fuperftitions, religion taught courtesy and fobernefs to the fons of chivalry a circumftance whereof the falutary effects are ftill difcernible in the manners of Europe. How much greater may we prefume its efficacy to be in thefe days, when it is taught in its purity, and may be underftood 2 ftood by all! But infidels, it may be objected, are as eminent for polite behaviour, as believers. Granting this to be true, which however it is impoffible to prove, I would only defire those, who fecond the objection, to confider, whether the present system of politeness arofe among infidels or Chriftians; whether it would have arisen at all, if paganifm had continued to prevail; whether feveral of its diftiguishing characters be not derived from the Christian religion; whether the light of reason, unaided by the radiance of the gofpel, would have difpelled fo foon that night of intellectual darkness which followed the subverfion of the Roman empire: and, laftly, whether it be not prudent for a few individuals (unbelievers being ftill, as I truft, the fmaller number in these parts of the world) to conform to the manners of the many, especially when those manners are univerfally felt and acknowledged to be more agreeable than any other. influence of true religion, in humanizing fociety, and refining converfation, is indeed very great. And if fo, I could not, confiftently with my present plan, overlook it. Nor is it, in my opinion, poffible for a philosopher, unless blinded by ignorance, checked by timidity, or led aftray by prejudice, to enter into any inquiry relating either to morals or to manners, without paying fome tribute of praise to that Divine Institution. THE EN D. · The REMARKS ON THE UTILITY OF CLASSICAL LEARNING. Ego multos homines excellenti animo ac virtute fuiffe, et fine doctrina, natura ipfius habitu prope divino, per feipfos et moderatos, et graves, extitiffe fateor. Etiam illud adjungo, fapius ad laudem atque virtutem naturam fine doctrina, quam fine natura valuiffe doctrinam. Atque idem ego contendo, cum ad naturam eximiam atque illuftrem accefferit ratio quædam conformatioque doctrina, tum illud nefcio quid præclarum ac fingulare folere exiftere. Quod fi non hic tantus fructus oftenderetur, et fi ex his ftudiis delectatio fola peteretur; tamen, ut opinor, hanc animi remiffionem humaniffimam ac liberatiffimam judicaretis. Hec ftudia adolefcentiam alunt, Senectutem oblectant, fecundas res ornant, adverfis perfugium ac folatium præbent, delectant domi, non impediunt foris, pernoctant nobifcum, peregrinantur, rufticantur. Cicero pro Archia, cap. 7. REMARKS ON THE UTILITY OF CLASSICAL LEARNING Written in the year 1769. T HE calumniators of the Greek and Roman Learning have not been few in thefe latter times. Perrault, La Motte, and Teraffon, arraigned the taste of the ancients; and Des Cartes and Malebranche affected to defpife their philofophy. Yet it feemed to be allowed in general, that the ftudy of the Claffic Authors. was a neceffary part of polite education. This, however, has of late been not only queftioned, but denied: and it has been faid, that every thing worth preferving of ancient literature might be more eafily tranfmitted, both to us and to pofterity, through the channel of the modern languages, than through that of the Greek and Latin. On this fubject, feveral flight effays have been written; the authors of which feem to think, that the human mind, being now arrived at VOL. II. maturity, 3 & |