12 
Mr. Henry on the Confiftency of 
To be ferious—So far have thefe prejudices 
extended, that many parents entertain the moft 
difmal apprehenfions of their fons acquiring a tafte 
for literature, and look on an inclination to natural 
philofophy as highly dangerous to their progrefs 
in trade. Behold, fay they, that wealthy manu¬ 
facturer! Without any knowledge, beyond that of 
the goodnefs of his raw materials, and of judging 
whether his wares were properly fabricated and 
finifhed, joined with a tolerable acquaintance with 
figures, and a moft cautious prudence, he has 
amaffed an affluent fortune. On the other hand, 
fee that man of erudition l Inftead of attending to 
the manufacture of his goods, his time was em- 
ployed'in reading hiftory j inftead of keeping his 
books, and ftating his accounts, he was lolving 
problems in Euclid, or making chemical experi¬ 
ments in order to effeCt new difcoveries, when he 
might have availed himfelf of thofe already made, 
by the labour and at the expence of others. His 
refined ideas had taught him that fulpicion is mean, 
and his learning and credulity have plunged him 
into ruin. 
Thefe are fpecious but deceitful reprefentations. 
That an imprudent young man may, by devoting 
thofe hours to philofophical or literary purfuits, 
which ought to have been given to bufinefs, have 
precipitated himfelf into poverty and diftrefs, can¬ 
not be denied. But the mifchief arifes, not from 
a tafte for thofe ftudies, but from the improper 
arrange- 
