No. 112.] 517 



in numberless cases of daily occurrence, in which having no estab- 

 lished principles to guide us — no line of procedure, as it were, dis- 

 tinctly chalked out — we must needs act on the best extempora- 

 neous conjectures we can form. He who is eminently skilful in 

 doing this, is said to possess a superior degree of common sense, 

 But that common sense is only our second best guide — that the 

 rules of art, if judiciously framed, are always desirable when they 

 can be had, is an assertion for the truth of which I may appeal to 

 the testimony of mankind in general, which is so much the more 

 valuable, inasmuch as it may be accounted the testimony of adver- 

 saries. For the generality have a strong predilection in favor of 

 common sense, except in those points in which they respectively 

 possess a knowledge of a system of rules; but in these points they 

 deride any one who trusts to unaided common sense. A sailor, 

 6. g., will perhaps despise the pretensions of medical nera, 

 and prefer treating a disease by common sense ; but he would ridi- 

 cule the proposal of navigating a ship by common sense, without 

 regard to the maxims of nautical art. A physician, again, will 

 perhaps contemn system^s of political economy, of logic or meta- 

 physics, and insist on the superior wisdom of trusting to common 

 sense in such matters^ but he would never approve of trusting to 

 common sense in the treatementof diseases. Neither, again,would 

 the architect recommend a relianre on common sense alone in 

 building, nor the musician in music, to the neglect of the system 

 of rules which, in their respective arts, have been deduced from 

 scientific reasoning, aided by experience. And the induction might 

 be extended to every department of practice. Since, therefore, 

 each gives the preference to unassisted common sense only in those 

 cases where he himself has notliingelse to trust to, and invariably 

 resorts to tlie rules of art wherever ho possesses the knowledge of 

 them, it is plain that mankind universally bear their testimony, 

 though unconsciously, and often unwillingly, to the j)rpf{r.i!)hness 

 of systematic knowledge to conjectural judgments. 



Now, gentlemen,! trust enough has been said to satisfy any rea- 

 soning mind that every science, art or pr.ictice, however humble 

 its i)ret('nsions, must look alone to education for its successful 

 prosccutioi; and that the farmer, whose calling now engages one 

 tenth of the population of our State, will never reach the position 



