Page:An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798).djvu/306

It has been frequently observed, that though we cannot hope to reach perfection in any thing, yet that it must always be advantageous to us, to place before our eyes the most perfect models. This observation has a plausible appearance, but is very far from being generally true. I even doubt its truth in one of the most obvious exemplifications that would occur. I doubt whether a very young painter would receive so much benefit, from an attempt to copy a highly finished and perfect picture, as from copying one where the outlines were more strongly marked, and the manner of laying on the colours was more easily discoverable. But in cases, where the perfection of the model, is a perfection of a different and superior nature from that, towards which we should naturally advance, we shall not always fail in making any progress towards it, but we shallin