82 EARLY LIFE. 



It is pretty clear that, whatever merit the delivery 

 or composition might have, or whatever town as well 

 as college gossip it might give rise to, the argument 

 was far from unanswerable; for it mainly consisted in 

 an attempt to prove that a denial of free-will was incon- 

 sistent with the foreknowledge of the Deity, whereas 

 the necessitarian side of the question is often supposed 

 to be more aided by that topic. In truth there is 

 some difficulty in this view of the question ; and that 

 is perhaps best avoided by the assumption, quite 

 well grounded, that with Omniscience there is no 

 such thing as before and after, all times being alike 

 present to the infinite and eternal mind. 



The success of this attempt impressed on me more 

 than ever the necessity of care and attention in pre- 

 paring for any such occasion, and the necessity of 

 going beyond books, and even not resting satisfied 

 with the most important study of all, as preparation 

 for eloquence the oratory of the ancients. It became, 

 therefore, my constant practice to hear all the speak- 

 ers and preachers who were most admired. The Court 

 of Session always, and the General Assembly in the 

 month of May, were accessible ; and I was not only 

 frequently taken there by my father, but also went 

 with one or two of my companions. At that time it 

 \vas impossible to enter into the particular merits of 

 different speakers : little more could be learned than 

 their excellence or defects of manner, with something 

 of the difference between oratory as read or as heard. 

 The great speakers and preachers left a lasting impres- 



