22 DISCOURSE ON THE STUDY 



yet, being free from these sources of error and mis- 

 take, accustom us to the strict use of language as 

 an instrument of reason, and by familiarizing us, in 

 our progress towards truth, to walk uprightly and 

 straight-forward on firm ground, give us that proper 

 and dignified carriage of mind which could never be 

 acquired by having always to pick our steps among 

 obstructions and loose fragments, or to steady them 

 in the reeling tempest of conflicting meanings. 



(17.) But there is yet another point of view under 

 which some acquaintance with abstract science may 

 be regarded as highly desirable in general edu- 

 cation, if not indispensably necessary, to impress 

 on us the distinction between strict and vague 

 reasoning, to show us what demonstration really 

 is, and to give us thereby a full and intimate sense 

 of the nature and strength of the evidence on 

 which our knowledge of the actual system of nature, 

 and the laws of natural phenomena, rests. For this 

 purpose, however, a very moderate acquaintance 

 with the more elementary branches of mathematics 

 may suffice. The chain is laid before us, and every 

 link is submitted to our unreserved examination, if 

 we have patience and inclination to enter on such 

 detail. Hundreds have gone through it, and will 

 continue to do so ; but, for the generality of man- 

 kind, it is enough to satisfy themselves of the so- 

 lidity and adamantine texture of its materials, and 

 the unreserved exposure of its weakest, as well as 

 its strongest, parts. If, however, we content our- 

 selves with this general view of the matter, we 

 must be content also to take on trust, that is, on 

 the authority of those who have examined deeper, 



