256 Biographical Account of [A¥uiz, 
contrivances, two kinds of equilibrium, which, though they appear 
very much alike in times of quiet, yet, in the moment of agitation 
and difficulty, are discovered to be very different from one another. 
The one is tottering and insecure, in so much that the smallest 
departure from the exact balance leads to its total subversion. ‘The 
other is stable, so that even a violent concussion only excites some 
vibrations backward and forward, after which every thing settles 
in its own place. Those governments in which there is no political 
liberty, and where the people have no influence, are all unna- 
voidably in the first of these predicaments: those in which there is 
a broad basis of liberty, naturally belong to that in which the 
balance re-establishes itself. The same weight, that of the people, 
which in the first case tends to overset the balance, tends in the 
second to restore it: and hence, probably, the great difference 
between the result of the French Revolution, and of the revolu- 
tions which formerly took place in this country. 
It will be happy for mankind, if they learn from these disasters, 
the great lessons which they seem so much calculated to enforce, 
and if while the people reflect on the danger of sudden innovation, 
their rulers consider, that it is only by a gradual reformation of 
abuses, and by extending, rather than abridging, the liberties of 
the people, that a remedy can be provided against similar con- 
vulsions. 
But I return willingly from this digression, to those branches of 
knowledge, where, in describing what Mr. Robison has done, the 
language of truth and of praise will never be found at variance 
with one another. 
In autumn 1799, this country had the misfortune to lose one of 
its brightest ornaments, Dr. Black, who had laid the foundation 
of the Pneumatic Chemistry, and discovered the principle of Latent 
Heat. The Doctor had published very little; and his discoveries 
were more numerous than his writings. His lectures, however, 
had drawn much attention; they presented the first philosophical 
views of chemical science; they were remarkable for their perspi- 
cuity and elegance, and this, joined to the simplicity and grace- 
fulness of manner in which they were delivered, made them uni- 
versally admired. It was now proposed to publish these lectures ; 
but this required that they should be put into the hands of some 
one able to perform the part of an editor, and to prepare for the 
press the notes from which the Doctor used to read his lectures. 
The person naturally thought of was Mr. Robison, one of Dr. 
Black’s oldest friends, and so well skilled in chemistry, that no one 
could be supposed to execute the work with more zeal or more 
intelligence. The task, however, was by no means easy. Dr. 
Black, with a very large share of talent and genius, with the most 
correct taste and soundest judgment, with no habits that could 
dissipate his mind, or withdraw it from the pursuits of science, was 
Jess ardent in research, and Jess stimulated by the love of fame, 
than might have been expected from such high endowments. A 
