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be taken into account before the underftanding can form a juft 

 eftimate. An accidental appearance or momentary impreffion 

 will not in this cafe give a proper view of the charadler, but the 

 whole feries of condudt manifeftiy pointing to certain leading 

 principles and regulated by them. A writer, therefore, with fuch 

 a defign need not be very folicitous where or when circumftances 

 might fall in, which may be deemed exceptions to the principles 

 that he meant to exhibit. For whether they appeared early or 

 late, in this or that part of the charader, they would upon the 

 fumming up of the whole be taken into the general account, and 

 their weight would be determined by their true importance and 

 relation to other matters. The underftanding would then judge 

 how far their operation extended, whether they were fuch grofs 

 violations of the principles as to be unnatural and improbable, 

 or merely deviations from them, confiftent with the varieties 

 ufually found in human nature. 



But in addrelling a charadcr to the fenfe or inftind above- 

 mentioned, the cafe appears entirely different. As no exercife is 

 here given to the underftanding to compare, digeft and refled, the 

 firft impreftions are of the higheft moment. The operation of this 

 fenfe, like that of other inftinds, is inftantaneous and ftrong. 

 It lays hold of the minuteft circumftances, and takes impreffions 

 from them which may not cafily be effaced. It will not abide 

 the flow procefs of unfolding the charadler by degrees, fufpending 

 its determinations upon the polFible exiftence of future matter, 

 and coldly waiting on the judgment. In appealing to this fenfe, 

 the v.'riter muft be careful to introduce his charader with im- 

 preftions fuitable to what he dcfigns. If he docs not give thefe 



in 



