PUBLIC INSTRUCTIONS. 



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t*^in *wra! writer, &quot; is nothing in itself; it is 

 not ds^rul &amp;gt;ut. when it departs from us ; its value 

 is founrJ aajy in ihat which it can purchase, 

 which, if wo suppose it put to its best use by 

 those that possess it, seems not much to deserve 

 the desire or envy of a wise man. It is certain, 

 that with regard to corporeal enjoyment, money 

 can neither open new avenues to pleasure, nor 

 block up the passages of anguish. Disease and 

 infirmity still continue to torture and enfeeble, 

 perhaps exasperated b/ luxury, or promoted by 

 softness. With respcci to the mind, it has rare 

 ly been observed, that wealth contributes much 

 to quicken the discernment, enlarge the capa 

 city, or elevate the imagination ; but may, by 

 hiring flattery, or laying di%ence asleep, confirm 

 error and harden stupidity.&quot; 



Such are some of the views and principles by 

 which an enlightened mind will naturally esti 

 mate the characters and enjoyments of mankind. 

 Were the great body of the population in every 

 country qualified to enter into such reasonings, 

 and to feel the force of such considerations, it 

 could not fail of being accompanied with many 

 beneficial effects. It would temper that foolish 

 adulation which ignorance and imbecility so fre 

 quently offer at the shrine of wealth and splen 

 dour ; and would undermine those envious and 

 discontented dispositions with which the lower 

 ranks are apt to view the riches and possessions 

 of the great. As moral principles and conduct, 

 associated with intelligence, are the only proper 

 objects of respect in the human character, it 

 would lead persons to form a judgment of the 

 true dignity of man, not by the glitter of affluence, 

 or the splendour of equipage, but by those moral 

 and intellectual qualities and endowments, which, 

 in every station, demands our regard, and which 

 constitute the real glory of the human character. 

 It would tend to counteract the principle of Ava 

 rice, which has produced so many miseries and 

 mischiefs in society, and to promote that Con 

 tentment under the allotments of Divine Provi 

 dence in which consists the chief part of the 

 happiness of mankind. And while it would 

 counteract the tendency to foolish and immoral 

 pursuits, it would direct to those rational pur 

 suits and enjoyments which are pure and per 

 manent, and congenial to the high dignity and 

 destination of man. In short, were the attention 

 of the higher and influential classes turned away 

 from hounding and horse-racing, masquerades, 

 gambling, and such like frivolous amusements, 

 and directed to the study of useful science, we 

 might expect to behold them patronising philan- 

 trophic and scientific characters in their plans 

 and investigations, and devoting a portion of 

 their wealth to carry forward those improve 

 ments by wjiich the comforts of mankind would 

 be increased, and science and art Carried nearer 

 to perfection. The twentieth part of that wealth 

 which is too frequently spent in fashionable follies. 



were it devoted to such purposes, would be of in 

 calculable service to the interests both of hu 

 manity and of science. 



II. The acquisition of general knowledge 

 would enable persons to profit by their attendance 

 on public instructions. 



In the present day, lectures on popular philoso 

 phy, astronomy, chemistry, geology, and political 

 economy are occasionally delivered in the princi 

 pal cities and towns of Great Britain ; but, out 

 of a population of thirty or forty thousand, it fre 

 quently happens, that scarcely thirty or forty in 

 dividuals can be collected to listen to instructions 

 on such subjects. This, no doubt, is partly ow 

 ing to the fee demanded for admission, which is 

 sometimes beyond the reach of many intelligent 

 persons in the lower walks of life. But it is 

 chiefly owing to the want of taste for such branch 

 es of knowledge to ignorance of the elements of 

 general science and to unacquaintance with the 

 terms which require to be used in the explanation 

 of such subjects, arising from the want of intel 

 lectual instruction in early life. Even of the few 

 who generally attend such lectures, there is not 

 perhaps the one half who can enter with intelli 

 gence into the train of reasoning and illustration 

 brought forward by the lecturer, or feel much in 

 terest in the discussions, excepting when their 

 eyes are dazzled with some flashy experiment. 

 Hence it follows, that very little knowledge com 

 paratively can be communicated in this way to 

 the population at large, owing to the deficiency of 

 previous instruction, and that systems of intel 

 lectual education, more extensive and efficient 

 than those which have hitherto been in operation, 

 require to be adopted, before the great body of the 

 people can be supposed to profit by attendance on 

 courses of lectures on any department of know 

 ledge. - 



The same remark will apply, with a few mo 

 difications, to the instructions, delivered by the 

 teachers of religion. For want of a proper foun 

 dation being previously laid, in the exercise of 

 the rational faculty, and the acquisition of gener 

 al information, comparatively little advantage is 

 derived from the sermons and expository lectures 

 delivered by the ministers of the Gospel. Of a 

 thousand individuals which may compose a wor 

 shipping assembly where religious instructions 

 are imparted, there are seldom above two hnndred 

 (and most frequently much fewer) that can give 

 any intelligent account of the train of thought 

 which has been pursued, or the topics which have 

 been illustrated in the discourses to which they 

 have professed to listen. This may be owing, in 

 many instances, if the dry and abstract method by 

 which certain prachers construct their discours 

 es, and to the want of energy, and the dull and 

 monotonous manner in which they are delivered. 

 But, in the majority of instances, it is obviously 



