THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE. 



not ee how any other conclusion can be drawn, 

 witnput denying both the moral character, and 

 even the very existence of the Deity. 



SECTION III. 



)N THE INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES OF MAN, 

 AND THE STRONG DESIRE OF KNOWLEDGE 

 WHICH IS IMPLANTED IN THE HUMAN 

 MIND. 



The principle of curiosity, or the strong desire 

 of knowledge which is implanted in the mind of 

 man, and the noble intellectual faculties for ac 

 quiring it with which he is endowed, are evi 

 dences and proofs of his immortal destination. 



Though this argument may be considered, by 

 some, as only a branch of the preceding, it may 

 not be inexpedient, for the sake of impression, 

 to consider it separately, as it will admit of rea 

 sonings and illustrations distinct from those 

 which have now been brought forward. 



The desire of knowledge is natural to every 

 rational being, and appears to be a fundamental 

 part of the constitution of the human mind. It is 

 perceptible even in the first stage of its pro 

 gress, and has a powerful influence over the 

 movements and the enjoyments of the young. 

 Present to a child a beautiful landscape, as ex 

 hibited through an optical machine, and it will 

 be highly delighted with the exhibition. Present 

 a second and a third of a different description, 

 in succession, and its delight will be increased ; 

 it will anxiously desire exhibitions of new and 

 varied objects, and its curiosity will never be 

 satisfied but with a constant succession of scenes 

 and objects which tend to widen the circle of its 

 knowledge, and enlarge the capacity of its mind. 

 Hence the keen desires of the young for shows, 

 spectacles, processions and public exhibitions of 

 every description, and the delight which they feel 

 in making excursions from one scene to another. 

 Hence the delight with which travellers traverse 

 the Alpine scenes of nature, cross seas and 

 oceans, descend into the gloomy subterraneous 

 cavern, or climb to the summit of the flaming 

 volcano, notwithstanding the fatigues and perils 

 to which they are exposed. 



&quot; For such the bounteous providence of Heaven 

 In every breast implanting the desire 

 Of objects new and strange, to urge us on 

 With unremitted labour to pursue 

 Those sacred stores that wait the ripening soul, 



In Truth s exhaustless bosom. 



For this the daring youth 



Breaks from his weeping mother s anxious arms, 

 In foreign climes to rove ; the pensive sage 

 Heedless of sleep, or midnight s harmful damp, 

 Hangs o er the sickly taper ; and untired 

 The virgin follows with enchanted step 

 The maz.es of some wild and wondrous tale, 

 From morn to eve.&quot; Akenside- 



*f the desire of knowledge appears, in many 



instances, to be less ardent in after life, it M 

 owing in a great measure to the methods of our 

 education, and the false principles on which we 

 attempt to convey instruction to the youthful 

 mind. Our initiatory instructions, hitherto, pre 

 sent the young with little more lhan the key of 

 knowledge, instead of knowledge itself. We lead 

 them to the threshold of the temple of science 

 without attempting to unfold its treasures. We 

 deem it sufficient that they be taught to pro 

 nounce, like a number of puppets, a multitude 

 of sounds and terms to which they attach no dis 

 tinct conceptions, while we decline to communi 

 cate clear and well-defined ideas. We load their 

 memories with technical phrases and propositions 

 which they do not understand, while the objects 

 of substantial science are carefully concealed 

 both from the eye of sense and from the eyes of 

 their understandings. Instead of leading them 

 by gentle steps, in the first stage of their pro 

 gress, over the grand, and beautiful, and varie 

 gated scenery of Nature and Revelation, where 

 almost every object is calculated to arrest their 

 attention, and to excite admiration, we con 

 found them with an unintelligible jargon of 

 grammar rules, of metaphysical subtleties, and 

 of dead languages, associated with stripes, con 

 finement, and painful recollections, which fre 

 quently produce a disgust at every thing which 

 has acquired the name of learning, before they 

 are made acquainted with that in which true 

 knowledge consists. Yet, notwithstanding the 

 injudicious methods by which we attempt t o 

 train the youthful intellect, it is impossible to 

 eradicate the desire of knowledge from tho 

 human mind. When substantial knowledge ig 

 presented to the mind, in a judicious and al 

 luring manner, it will not only be relished, but 

 prosecuted with ardour, by every one whose 

 faculties are not altogether immersed in the 

 mire of sensuality. Let a man, however ig 

 norant and untutored, be made acquainted with 

 some of the interesting details of Geography, 

 with the wonders of the ocean, and the nume 

 rous rivers continually rolling into its abyss. 

 with the lofty ranges of mountains which stretch 

 along the continents, and project their sum 

 mits beyond the clouds, with the volcanoes, 

 the tornadoes, the water-spouts, and the sui&amp;gt;- 

 lime and beautiful landscapes which diversify 

 the different climates of the earth; with the 

 numerous tribes of animated beings which peo 

 ple its surface, and the manners and customs 

 of its human inhabitants he will feel an eager 

 desire to know every thing else that appertains 

 to this subject, and will prosecute his inqui 

 ries with avidity, in so far as his means and 

 opportunities permit. Acquaint him with some 

 of the most striking facts in ancient and mo 

 dern history, and he will feel a desire to know 

 every thing of importance that has occurred in 

 the annals of the world since the commence- 



