Lifé and: Character of Nathanial Bowdith. = 
with action. ‘This was the doctrine and the practice of the great 
father of inductive philosophy, as well as of this his illustrious 
pupil. “That,” says Lord Bacon, “ will indeed dignify and ex- 
alt knowledge, if contemplation and action may be more nearly 
and strongly conjoined and united together than they have been, 
—a conjunction like unto that of the two highest planets, Sat- 
urn, the planet of rest and contemplation, and Jupiter, the planet 
_of civil society and action.” And speaking of himself in ano- 
ther place, he says, “ We judge also that mankind may conceive 
some hopes from our example; which we offer not by way of 
ostentation, but be®ause it may be useful. If any one therefore 
should despair, let him consider aman a8 much émployed in civil 
affairs as any other of his age,—a man of no great share of healthy 
who must therefore have lost much time,—and yet, in this under-- 
taking, he is the first who leads the way, unassisted by any mor- — 
tal, and steadfastly entering the true path, that was absolutely 
untrod before, and submitting his mind to things, may somewhat 
have piltranseil the design.” 
In the management of all his affairs and transactions, Dr. Bow- 
ditch was a man of great order and system, and he required it 
of all with whom he had to do, or over whom he exercised any 
control. He considered that there was.a sort of moral virtue in 
this, and he could not tolerate any thing like negligence or irreg- 
ularity. He doubtless had himself acquired this habit from the 
nature of his favorite study, which demands the undivided atten- 
tion of the mind, and is peculiarly suited to form habits of exact- 
ness and precision. He felt, too, that it was by a strict and 
undeviating adherence to order and system, that he had been 
enabled to accomplish so much in life, to unite the scholar with 
the financier, the speculative with the practical man. It may 
have been thought by some, that he carried this love of order 
to an extreme, and sometimes visited too harshly the deviations 
from the straight line of his directions. But he felt assured 
that it was the way to effect the most work and do the greatest 
good; he knew that the habit could be easily formed in a short 
time, and that it would then approve and recommend itself; and 
therefore he would admit of no apology for infractions of his rules, 
In the common sense of the word, Dr. Bowditch would not be 
called a public man, although I have ventured to call him so; 
for though he twice held a seat in-the Executive Council of 
