134 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



ing only those adventitious circumstances in 

 which they are placed, and those external trap 

 pings with which they are adorned. Wherever 

 wealth and splendour, and high-sounding titles 

 have taken up their residence, the multitude fall 

 down and worship at their shrine. The natural 

 and acquired endowments of the mind are seldom 

 appreciated and respected, unless they are cloth 

 ed with a dazzling exterior. A man of genius, 

 of virtue and of piety, is riot distinguished from 

 the common herd of mankind, unless he can af 

 ford to live in an elegant mansion, to entertain 

 convivial parties, and to mingle with the fashion 

 able and polite. The poor and ignorant peasant 

 looks up with a kind of veneration to mv lord and 

 my lady, as if they were a species of superior 

 beings, though, perhaps, with the exception of a 

 few trifling accomplishments, they are scarcely 

 raised above the level of the vulgar whom they 

 despise, in respect to intellectual attainments ; 

 and they are often far beneath them in those mo 

 ral accomplishments which constitute the true 

 glory of man, being too frequently the slaves of 

 many foolish caprices and unhallowed passions. 

 To pay homage to mere titles, rank or riches, 

 has a tendency to degrade the human mind, and 

 has been the source of all that vassalage, slavery 

 and despotism which have prevailed in the world. 

 On the other hand, the man of rank and fashion 

 looks down with a species of disdain, and con 

 siders as unworthy of his notice, the man of ta 

 lent, or the rational inquirer after truth, if he is 

 clad in a homely dress, and possessed of only a 

 small share of wealth ; because, forsooth, he is 

 unqualified to accompany him to horse-races, 

 assemblies, masquerades, and other fashionable 

 entertainments. Many an individual of superla 

 tive worth and merit has been thus overlooked by 

 his superiors in rank, and even by the great body 

 of his fellow-men, and has passed through the 

 world almost unnoticed and unknown, except by 

 a few minds congenial to his own. For the beau 

 ties and excellencies of mind can only be perceiv 

 ed and appreciated by those whose mental facul 

 ties have been, in some degree, enlightened 

 and improved, and who are aualified to estimate 

 the value of a jewel, although its casket may be 

 formed of coarse materials, and besmeared with 

 sand and mud. 



The multitude form no less erroneous esti 

 mates in regard to human happiness. Having 

 felt little other misery than that which arises 

 from poverty, want, or excessive labour, they are 

 apt to imagine, that where riches abound, and the 

 avenues to every sensitive enjoyment are free 

 und unobstructed, there misery can scarcly gain 

 admittance, and the greatest share of human hap 

 piness must be found ; that where there is wealth 

 there can be little sorrow, and that those who 

 glide along in splendour and affluence can scarcely 

 V acquainted with the cares and anxieties which 

 .wess so heavily upon the rest of mankind. 



Hence the ruling passion, which distingn/shi* 

 the majority of mankind, to aspire after elevateO 

 station and rank, and to accumulate riches, al 

 though it should be at the expense of trampling 

 under foot every social duty, and every moral 

 principle, and even at the risk of endangering 

 life itself. Hence, the idle and the vicious are 

 led to imagine, that if they can but lay hold of 

 wealth, whether by fraud, by deceit, or by open 

 violence, they will be able to administer nutri 

 ment to those desires which, when gratified, will 

 complete their happiness. 



It is evident, that nothing can be supposed 

 more effectual for counteracting such fallacious 

 tendencies of the human mind, than the cultiva 

 tion of reason, the expanding of the intellectual 

 faculties, and the habit of applying the princi 

 ples of knowledge to the diversified phenomena 

 of human character and conduct. The man 

 whose mind is accustomed to investigation, and 

 to take an extensive range through the regions ol 

 science, and who considers his mental powers as 

 the chief characteristic by which he is distin 

 guished in the scale of animal existence, will na 

 turally be guided in his estimates of human cha 

 racter, by moral and intellectual considerations. 

 His eye will easily penetrate through the thin 

 veil of exterior and adventitious accompaniments, 

 and appreciate what alone is worthy of regard in 

 the characters of men, whether they be surround 

 ed by wealth and splendour, or immersed in po 

 verty or obscurity. And with respect to human 

 happiness, a person of this description will easily 

 enter into such a train of reasoning as the follow 

 ing, and feel its force : That, in respect of 

 wealth, what we cannot reach may very well be 

 forborne ; that the inequality of happiness on this 

 account is, for the most part, much less than it 

 seems ; that the greatness which we admire at 

 a distance, has much fewer advantages, and 

 much less splendour, when we are suffered to 

 approach it ; that the happiness which we ima 

 gine to be found in high life, is much alloyed 

 and diminished by a variety of foolish passions 

 and domestic cares and anxieties, of which we 

 are generally ignorant ; and that the apparent in 

 felicity of the lower stations in society is fre 

 quently moderated by various moral and domestic 

 comforts, unknown to many of those who occupy 

 the highest ranks of social life. There is a cer 

 tain portion of external enjoyment without which 

 no man can be happy ; and there is a certain 

 portion of wealth to procure this enjovment 

 which every rank of society ought to possess, and 

 which even the lowest ranks would obtain, were 

 the movements of the social machine properly 

 conducted. Bbt, to pursue riches, with all the 

 violence of passion, as the chief end of our being, 

 is not only degrading to our intellectual natures, 

 and tends to block up the avenues to tranquil en 

 joyment, but is fraught with toil and anetj 

 and innumerable hazards. &quot; Wealth,&quot; says a 



