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the imagination , and sharpen the faculties generally . If occasionally indulged in witf * this view , they may be harmless or useful . But our objection to such speculations is in full force when they sire pursued as subjects of phi- ? losop hical inquiry . We wish to point out that when bent on the acquisition of knowledge , it is foolish to lay hold of' subjects on which no knowledge can be obtained . It should be a rule with us , before we enter on a new
inquiry , to ascertain whethep tfye knowledge we seek is within our reach ; or we shall be in a similar condition with him wjio builds a tower without counting fhe cost , or goes out to war without having computed his forces . We make a wrong choice when we pursue an object which our ignorance unfits us to attain . It is not pertain tliat the interpretation of all the prophecies in the Revelations is still beyond the reach of human faculties ; and
learned men , who sit down calraly to study the mysterious book , with no other purpose than to discover the truth , deserve our respect and gratitude . But we have heard that women who understand no language but their own , and are bqt superficially acquainted with history , have spent their hours in attempts to explai p the prophecies , and have left behind them , as a monument of perverted ingenuity , volumes pf unfounded speculation on subjects before which the most enlightened intellects are compelled to bow . Many a
strange interpretation have we heard advanced with confidence jby unlearned persons on difficult passages of thjB Old Testament , \ vhere the prpfoundest Hebrew scholars ventured to offer nothing more than a conjecture . Many an argument and many an assertion have we listened to from those who hacl never studied the philosophy of the human mind , on the subject of liberty and necessity . Whether or not we allow that certainty is to be attained on this point , it can only be by those who have prepared themselves for a
comparison of the general course of Providence with the operations of the human mind , by the careful study of both . Painful but salutary is the rebuke conveyed to us in the midst of the warmth of such discussions , by the smile on the face pf one who nas experienced difficulties that we dream not of ; and who is perhaps kind enough to shew us that we had better adjourn the debate for an indefinite time . On such occasions is the rule brought home to us , to ascertain whether the object we aim at is within the reach not only
ot our faculties , but or our knowledge . The consequence of our wrong choice of subjects of thought is so great a degree of uncertainty in our aim , that our efforts must unavoidably fail of their object , though something valuable may be achieved by the way . Our advance cannot always be progressive , or our labours effective , if our purpose be ill-defined or wholly obscure . This is too evident to need illustration .
The cause of these mistakes is that which the world has for ages had reason to lament—ignorance of the true principle of philosophizing . We are apt to set out wrong . Either explicitly or unconsciously we form a theory , and ( as we all like our own theories ) we make all circumstances bend to it , and all our observations go to support it . Thus , the old philosophers had each one theory or mote : some came pretty near the truth ; others wandered , in a most eccentric of bit , far from the source of light . How was it to be decided vtfhb was in the right ? By the observation of facts , as all agreed . They searched the heavens and the earth for facts , and all gleaned a plenteous store , and apparently with nearl y equal success . At all 6 yeiits , illustrations , Much eaich contended to be facts , abounded . Where was the next appeal fo be made ? No 6 ne knew J so the philosophical world wris divided among jarring factions , till Bacon published the right method of discovering truth ,
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Essays on the Art of Thinking . 603
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1829, page 603, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2576/page/3/
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