extorting alternate feelings of love and diſguſt; but guarded againſt as beaſts of prey, till every enlarged ſocial feeling, in a word,—humanity, was eradicated.
In life, on the contrary, as we gradually diſcover the imperfections of our nature, we diſcover virtues, and various circumſtances attach us to our fellow creatures, when we mix with them, and view the ſame objects, that are never thought of in acquiring a haſty unnatural knowledge of the world. We ſee a folly ſwell into a vice, by almoſt imperceptible degrees, and pity while we blame; but, if the hideous monſter burſt ſuddenly on our ſight, fear and diſguſt rendering us more ſevere than man ought to be, might lead us with blind zeal to uſurp the character of omnipotence, and denounce damnation on our fellow mortals, forgetting that we cannot read the heart, and that we have ſeeds of the ſame vices lurking in our own.
I have already remarked that we expect more from inſtruction, than mere inſtruction can produce: for, inſtead of preparing young people to encounter the evils of life with dignity, and to acquire wiſdom and virtue by the exerciſe of their own faculties, precepts are heaped upon precepts, and blind obedience required, when conviction ſhould be brought home to reaſon.
Suppoſe, for inſtance, that a young perſon in the firſt ardour of friendſhip deifies the beloved object—what harm can ariſe from this miſtaken enthuſiaſtic attachment? Perhaps it is neceſſary for virtue firſt to appear in a human form to impreſs youthful hearts; the ideal model, which a
