* ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL LEARMM;. 



stand their natures, their relations to each other, and 

 their uses to man, instead of being a repulsive and 

 laborious task, a very fascinating and very easy 

 amusement, so fascinating that I was never tired of 

 it, and so easy that it hindered nothing else, and 

 nobody heeded it. At this time, I sometimes found, 

 or fancied, that those who had the books professing 

 to explain the subjects, knew less of the subjects 

 themselves than I did, that (to take an instance 

 from the subject of this volume,) he who was fami- 

 liar with the goldfinch in the book, knew little of the 

 goldfinch in the bush ; and so of other matters. 



Subsequently, when, in the t % ourse of events which 

 are not worth mentioning, I came pretty largely and 

 freely into contact with men of learning and talent, 

 some of whom have graven their monuments and 

 left us, and others still remain, discharging duties 

 of the first importance, with great ability and much 

 public approbation, I still found, that though there 

 was one species of knowledge in which they were 

 greatly superior to me, there was always, when the 

 subject was not merely technical, that is, supple- 

 mental to the reality, another species in which I had 

 the advantage of them ; and that, when we came to 

 consider the thing itself, and not the mere view 

 which had been taken of it, my knowledge, though 

 it often, indeed generally, went but awkwardly in 

 mode and figure, went most directly to the point. 

 This helped to convince me that how valuable 

 soever their learning might be among the professedly 

 learned, it was not exactly the best suited to the 

 wants of a " working world." 



I had a third means of obtaining evidence: For 

 about eighteen years, I had daily opportunities of 

 observing the development of the mind at that very 



