14792. state of nature. 184, 
presumed to censure thy holy ways? Has the dust which 
received a foul from thee, ascribed to the account of its 
own deservings what was only the gift of thy mercy? Has 
the wretch whom thou hast nourifhed in thy bosom, and 
to whom thou hast given from thy own cup so many cordial 
drops of happinefs, has he forgotten. his obligations to 
thee ? Strike immediately his eyes with blindnefs ; let him 
never again hear the voice of friendfhip ; let him grow 
gray in this dismal dungeon! With a willing: spirit will 
he submit to it, thankful for the remembrance of the plea 
sures that are past, and happy in the expectation of futu- 
rity. 
- It was my whole soul, Viviani, which I poured forth in. 
this prayer 5 but it was not the murmur of discontent, but 
the voluntary resignation of gratitude, which was’ heard. 
and attended to by that God who still reserved me for 
so much happinefs; for do I not live here in freedom? 
and has not my friend, this very day, carried me forth a- 
mong the flowers. of the spring ? 
. Here he felt for the hand of his scholar, in order to. 
give it a grateful squeeze ; but Viviani seized upon his, 
and carried it with veneration to his lips.. 
x STATE OF NATURE. 
t 
From Plowden’s Fura Anglorum.. 
Tue state of nature, in which all philosophers consider 
man, and the rights and properties inherent in his nature, 
is a mere theoretical and metaphysical state, pre-existing 
only in the mind, before the physical existence of any 
human entity whatever. As thisstate of nature, then, ne- 
ver had any real existence, so also the various qualities, 
properties, rights, powers, and adjuncts annexed unto it,. 
are mere creatures of the imagination, attributable only to, 
