48 THE ROYAL INSTITUTION. [CHAP. I. 



And again : 



Munich, June 8, 1798. 



I have received your letter from Brighton of the 12th ult. 

 You can hardly imagine the high degree of pleasure and 

 satisfaction which I feel at your success in your most 

 laudable undertakings. Go on, my dear sir, and be assured 

 that you will contribute more essentially to the revival of 

 taste and morals, of energy, industry, benevolence, and 

 prosperity in your favoured country than all the specula- 

 tors and reformers in the three kingdoms. 



When society is arrived at a certain degree of torpid 

 indifference and enervation of mind and body, which are the 

 unavoidable effects of wealth, luxury, and inordinate indul- 

 gence, mankind must either be allured or shamed into 

 action. Precepts and admonitions have no effect on them. 



As they are too indolent to take the trouble either to 

 investigate or to choose, they must be led to acts of useful 

 benevolence as they are led in everything else by fashion ; 

 when you shall have rendered it perfectly ridiculous for a 

 man of fashion and fortune to have the appearance of being 

 insensible to the most noble and most delightful of human 

 enjoyments that which results from doing good you will 

 have done more for the relief of the poor than all that the 

 Poor Laws can ever effect. Deeply impressed with the 

 necessity of rendering it fashionable to care for the poor 

 and indigent, and contribute to their relief and comfort, in 

 order to diffuse in England that spirit of active benevolence 

 you are kindling, I am apt to insist, perhaps with too much 

 prolixity, on that important point. 



I am anxious to hear of the execution of your plan with 

 regard to Bridewell. A well arranged House of Industry 

 is much wanted in London. It is indeed absolutely neces- 

 sary to the success of your undertaking, for there must be 

 something to see and to touch, if I may use the expres- 

 sion, otherwise people in general will have but very faint, 

 imperfect, and transitory ideas of those important and 

 highly interesting objects with which you must make them 



