*fondissez; go to the bottom of things. Anything half done, or half known, is, in my mind, neither done nor known at all. Nay worse, for it often misleads. There is hardly any place, or any company, where you may not gain knowledge, if you please; almost everybody knows some one thing, and is glad to talk upon that one thing. [Same date.]
Proper Inquisitiveness.—Seek, and you will
find, in this world as well as in the next. See everything,
inquire into everything; and you may excuse
your curiosity and the questions you ask, which otherwise
might be thought impertinent by your manner
of asking them; for most things depend a great
deal upon the manner. As, for example, I am afraid
that I am very troublesome with my questions; but
nobody can inform me so well as you; or something
of that kind. [Same date.]
Religion to be Respected.—But when you frequent
places of public worship, as I would have you
go to all the different ones you meet with, remember
that, however erroneous, they are none of them
objects of laughter and ridicule. Honest error is
to be pitied, not ridiculed. The object of all the
public worships in the world is the same; it is that
great eternal Being who created everything. The
different manners of worship are by no means sub-
