fjgi, on a course 0/ reading. 15 1 



seen in Locke'' s conduct of the understanding, or in 

 IVatt^s improvement oj" the mind j but caution ought 

 to be observed, not to pay too great an attention to 

 the minutiae of Watt. When an apparatus is too 

 nice, a person becomes inclined to trust much to its 

 powers, and little to his own exertions. The mental 

 faculties are the most improved by exercise. Num- 

 bers six and^ seven, will require much time and close 

 attention. Broken hours of leisure will not be very 

 favourable to the reading of mathematics, and natu- 

 ral philosophy : It may, therefore, be advisable to 

 appropriate the greater portions of spare time to 

 numbers six and seven, while the smaller are occu- 

 pied by pursuing the train of history, number five. 

 The books recommended in this- clafs, will perhaps 

 be deemed too superficial.. A general view is the 

 object. However, as soon as the reader has got 

 through the authors cited in number five, he may 

 proceed in the following order ; 



Gillies'' s history of Greece— rRollin's ancient history i- 

 volumes %th, gth, and loth — Ferguson's history 

 of the Roman republic — Gihbon's history of the decline 

 and fall of the Roman empire, abridged — Rohertson''s 

 history of Charles V. — f^oltaire's age of Lewis XIV. 

 — Voltaire'' s age of Lewis XV. — Historical parts of 

 the annual registers, from 1759 *° ^^^^ present time — 

 ReynaPs history of the European settlements and trade 

 in the East and West Indies — Moshcim''s ecclesiastical 

 history — Henry's history of Great Britain — Hume's 



history, beginning with Henry vil Macauly''s his^ 



tory of England — Smollet's history of EngLaid from 



