the late Professor Playfair. 131 



simplicity and mildness of his manners, that the same tone 

 and deportment seemed equally appropriate in all societies, 

 and enabled him to delight the young and the gay with the 

 same sort of conversation which instructed the learned and 

 the grave. There never, indeed, was a man of learning and 

 talent who appeared in society so perfectly free from all sorts 

 of pretension or notion of his own importance, or so little 

 solicitous to distinguish himself, or so sincerely willing to give 

 place to every one else. Even upon subjects which he had tho- 

 roughly studied, he was never in the least impatient to speak, 

 and spoke at all times without any tone of authority ; while, so 

 far from wishing to set off what he had to say by any brilliancy 

 or emphasis of expression, it seemed generally as if he had studied 

 to disguise the weight and originality of his thoughts under the 

 plainest form of speech, and the most quiet and indifferent man- 

 ner : so that the profoundest remarks and subtilest observations 

 were often dropped, not only without any solicitude that their 

 value should be observed, but without any apparent consciousness 

 that they possessed any. Though the most social of human be- 

 ings, and the most disposed to encourage and sympathize 

 with the gaiety and joviality of others, his own spirits were 

 in general rather cheerful than gay, or at least never rose 

 to any turbulence or tumult of merriment; and while he 

 would listen with the kindest indulgence to the more extra- 

 vagant sallies of his younger friends, and prompt them by 

 the heartiest approbation, his own satisfaction might generally 

 be traced in a slow and temperate smile, gradually mantling 

 over his benevolent and intelligent features, and lighting up the 

 countenance of the sage with the expression of the mildest and 

 most genuine philanthropy. It was wonderful, indeed, con- 

 sidering the measure of his own intellect, and the rigid 

 and undeviating propriety of his own conduct, how tolerant he 

 was of the defects and errors of other men. He was too in- 

 dulgent, in truth, and favourable to his friends, and made a 

 kind and liberal allowance for the faults of all mankind, except 

 only faults of baseness or of cruelty, against which he never 

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