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an author's peculiar habits of thinking predominate over the 

 general laws of critics. There is no flyle fo direcflly appro- 

 priate to any one fpecies of writing as to exclude the opera- 

 tion of the various habits and difpofitions of different writers, 

 while the writings of the fame author, though in different 

 fpecies of compofition, have a certain degree of fimilarity in 

 their ftyle which at once points him out to the intelligent 

 reader. The Hiftory of Livy is very different from that of 

 Tacitus, and the ftyle of Virgil's epic poetry very unlike to that 

 of Homer : while Cicero appears the fame in his letters, his 

 orations and his philofophy ; and Dodlor Johnfon never fails to 

 difcover himfelf in his debates, his biography and his morals, 

 in his compofitions and his converfation. 



That fuch peculiarities in ftyle of thought fliould be found 

 amongft authors is not at all furprizing ; for what is there in 

 which men are alike ? Their gefture, their voice, their gait, 

 their hand-writing, their countenance, are all peculiar and ap- 

 propriate to each individual ; why then fliall we fuppofe that 

 their minds are not various ? Various habits of thinking and 

 difpofitions of mind do in fadl prefent themfelves to us at 

 every moment and in every fituation. The different impref- 

 fions which the fame objedl makes on different individuals, 

 the different reception which the fame compofition meets with 

 from different readers, the different teftimonies given of the 

 fiime fadl by different witneffes poffeffmg equal opportunities 

 of obfervation are all fo many evident proofs of this. In 

 thofe works v/hich are peculiarly the works of minds invent- 



VoL. V. ( F ) ing. 



