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Untitled Article
her reluctant steps into the unaccustomed path , and say unto her c Come , learn with me . ' Ah , but there is much that he studies ' exclaims the objector , that is unfit for her perusal . ' Then is it unfit for his , and he may abandon it with advantage . Corruption is corruption , be the recipient who it may , and , like all putrescence , is infectious . If such seeds be sown in the mind of
the youth , what may we expect from his manhood and his age ? That which we so often find . Mankind are so much the slaves of caste and custom , that evils known as such are still perseveringly cultivated ; and that which is dear to prejudice will be preserved , however much it be opposed to principle . There is a little talking and writing in accordance with the latter ; but in acting we are always arm in arm with some favourite prejudice . It is a very favourite one , that detail is essential and amiable in woman , but the reverse in
man , while the large views and stem virtues which ennoble him , are unnecessary for her ; yet I dare say the same people who adopt this idea , would have among their common-places that ' trifles make the sum of human life / &c . It was some impression of this sort , I have no doubt , which induced an observation which I once heard uttered by a woman regarding the husband of a neighbour of hers , viz ., that he was' a wretch who knew how
many eggs went to the pudding . ' I cannot conceive how this knowledge , and even acting upon it by assisting to make the pudding , should render him either hateftil or contemptible , unless he associated with it some principle of littleness , which principle would equally degrade him were he a monarch , and brought it into action in making a ministry . ' The faculty of
recognising identity of thought , notwithstanding diversity of language , with the converse power of detecting difference of meaning under identity of expression , is the first characteristic of an intellect fit for philosophy . This may be applied to the recognition of principles in actions ; the common mind cannot detect identity of principle under diversity of circumstances , manners , and methods ; nor deviations from principle , when
identity in these is preserved . Thus a conviction of debt , which has been discussed in a Court of Conscience , is a disgrace ; while a discharge under the Insolvent Act for a sum sufficient to endow an hospital is no discredit . The mere wearing or turniny a coat shall gain a man consideration , while the mere making of it shall gain him none . The useful , indispensable trades are those
which rank lowest in the scale of estimation ; and , just as we feel regarding those essential requisites , air and water , we value that least which serves us most . To fetch and carry scandal from house to house , if well managed , as it generally is , does not disgrace a Duchess ; but to carry a parcel in the streets , is a crime of which none of the gens cornme il faut could dare to be guilty . If a servant be out of the way , better were it to let a
Untitled Article
776 Acephala .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1834, page 776, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2639/page/30/
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