t 16 B L I 
the officious humanity of tliofe who would anticipate or 
fupply all his wants, who would prevent all his motions, 
who would do or procure every thing for him without his 
own endeavours. It is pollible they may furvive thole 
who, by the ties of blood and nature, are more immedi¬ 
ately interelled in their happinefs than the reft of mankind ; 
and, when this happens, their difappointments may be ma¬ 
ny ; their petitions, will often be refufed, feidom fully 
gratified; and, even when granted, the conceflion will be 
fo ungraceful as to render its want much more tolerable 
than its fruition. For all thefe reafons, in the education 
of a blind man, it is infinitely better to cfireft than fuper- 
fede his own exertions. From the time that he can move 
and feel, let him be taught to fupply his own exigencies ; 
to drefs and feed himfelf; to run from place to place, ei¬ 
ther for exercife, or in purfuit of what he wants. In 
thefe excurfions, however, it will be highly proper for 
fome one to fuperintend his motions at a diftance, without 
feeming to watch over him. A vigilance too apparent, 
may imprefs him with a fufpicion as to the true motive. 
When dangers are obvious, fucli as rivers, precipices, &c. 
tliofe who are entrufted with the blind will find it neither 
necelTary nor expedient to make their vigilance a fecret. 
They ought then to acquaint their pupil, that they are 
prfefent with him ; and to interpofe for his prefervaiion. 
But objefls lei's dangerous, which may give him pain 
without any permanent injury, may with delign be thrown 
in his way ; for his own experience of thefe bad efl'e£ts 
will be an infinitely more eloquent monitor, than thecoun- 
fels of any advifer whatever. 
At proper intervals exercife will be found highly requi- 
fiie, rather to preferve health, and facilitate the vital 
•functions, than merely for recreation. Of all the different 
kinds of exercife, riding on horfeback is far the molt pro¬ 
ductive of its end. In thefe excurfions his attendant ought 
conftantly to be with him ; and the horfe fliould always 
either be taught to follow its guide, or be conducted by 
a leading-rein, befides the bridle which he himfelf holds. 
The prefent lord Deerhurft, though lie loft his fight by 
falling from his horfe in attempting to leap a gate, yet 
Fill prefers the active exercife of riding on horleback to 
lounging in a carriage. He is frequently feen riding very 
Avift through the crowd in the vicinity of London, con¬ 
ducted by his fervant with a leading-rein. 
There are few feiences in which the blind have not oc, 
calionally diftinguiflied themfelves : even tliofe whofe ac- 
.quilition feemed e.Hentially to depend upon vifion, have at 
Lift yielded to genius and induftry, though deprived of 
that advantage. Dr. Saunderfon has left behind him the 
moft ftriking evidences of aftonifning proficiency in thofe 
retired and ab.ftraCt branches of mathematics which ap¬ 
peared lead acceffible to perfons of his infirmity. Sculp¬ 
ture is not, perhaps, the molt practicable of the arts for 
a blind man ; yet he is not wholly excluded from that 
pleafing employment. There are inltances of perfons who 
have been enabled to take the figure and idea of a face by 
the touch, and mould it in wax with the utmoft exaCtnefs; 
as was the cafe of the blind fcnlptor mentioned by de 
Piles, who thus took the likenefs of the duke de Bracciano 
in a dark cellar, and made a marble ftatue of Charles I. 
with great elegance and juftnefs. However unaccountable 
it may appear to the abftraCt philofopher, yet nothing is 
more certain in fad, than that a blind man may alfo, by 
the efforts of a cultivated genius, exhibit in poetry the moft 
natural images and animated deferiptions, even of vifible 
objects, without incurring the imputation of plagiarifm. 
In the lifter art of mufic, there are many aftonifliing 
proofs, how far the blind may proceed. If we look into 
former periods, we (hall find them pregnant with exam¬ 
ples, how amply nature has capacitated the blind to excel 
both in the fcientific and practical departments of mufic. 
In the lixteenth century, when the progrefs of improve¬ 
ment both in melody and harmony was rapid and confpi- 
cuous, Francifcus Salinas was eminently diftinguiflied. 
7 .bough afflicted with incurable blindnefs, he was pro- 
N D. 
foundly fkdled botli in the theory and practice of mufic. 
Asa performer, he is celebrated by his cotemporaries with 
the higheft encomiums. As a theorirt, his book, if we 
may believe Sir John Hawkins, is equal in value to any 
now extant in any language. Though this unfortunate 
perfon was deprived of fight in his earlieft infancy, he did 
not content himfelf with delineating the various pheno¬ 
mena in mufic, but the principles from whence they refult, 
the relations of found, the nature of_ arithmetical, geo¬ 
metrical, and harmonica], ratios, which then were efteeni- 
ed effential to the theory of mulic, with a degree of intel¬ 
ligence which would have deferved admiration though lie 
had been in full pofleffion of every fenfe requifite for thefe 
difquifitions. In the fame period flourifhed Cafpar Crumb- 
horn, blind from the third year of his age : yet he com- 
pofed feveral pieces in many parts with fo much fticcefs, 
and performed both upon the flute and violin foexquifitely, 
that he was diftinguiflied by Auguftus eleCtor of Saxony. 
To thefe might be added Martini Pefenti of Venice, a 
compofer and of vocal and inftrumental mufic alsnort of 
all kinds, though blind from his nativity ; with other ex¬ 
amples equally worthy of public attention. 
That arithmetical and algebraical calculations fliould be 
expeditioufly performed by the blind, feems on the firfl 
view an utter impofiibility ; yet it is furprifing to find 
what proficiency has been made herein, particularly by 
Dr. Saunderfon, and Dr. Moves, whofe methods are ex¬ 
tremely ingenious and comprehenfive. M. D derot, in 
his Letters concerning the blind, lias explained Dr. Saun- 
derfon’s numerical table in the moft -cireuuiftantiaf man¬ 
ner ; we (hall therefore give the defeription in his words. 
“ Imagine to yourfelf a fquare, divided into four equal 
parts by perpendicular lines at the Tides, in fucli a manner, 
that it may prefent you the nine points i, 2, 3,4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9. 
Snppofe this fquare pierced with nine holes capable of re¬ 
ceiving pins of two kinds, all of equal length and thick- 
nefs, lout fome with heads a little larger than the others. 
The pins with the large heads are never placed any where 
elfe but in the centre of each fquare; and tliofe with 
the fmaller heads are never placed any where but at the 
lides, except in one fingle cafe, which is that of making 
the figure 1, where none are placed at the lides. The fign 
of o is made by placing a pin with a large head'in the cen¬ 
tre of the little fquare, without putting any other pin at the 
lides. The number 1 is reprefented by a pin.with a fniall 
head placed in the centre of the fquare, without putting 
any other pin at the Tides: the number 2, by a pin with a 
large head placed in the centre of the fquare, and by a 
pin with a {mail head placed on one of the fides at the 
point 1 : the number 3, by a pin with a large head placed 
in the centre of the fquare, and by a pin with a final! head 
placed on one of the fides at the point 2 : the number 4, 
by a pin with a large head placed in the centre of the 
fquare, and by a pin with a fniall head placed on one of 
the fides at the point 3: the number 5, by a pin with a 
large head placed in the centre of the fquare, and by a 
pin with a finafl head placed 011 one of the fides at the 
point 4 : the number 6, by a pin with a large head placed 
in the centre of the fquare, and by a pin with a fmall head 
placed on one of the fides at the point 3 : the number 7, 
by a pin with a large head placed in the centre of the 
fquare, and by a pin with a fmall head placed on one of 
the fides at the point 6 : the number 8, by a pin with a 
large head placed in the centre of the fq.uare, and by a 
pin with a fmall head placed on one of the fides at the 
point 7 : the number 9, by a pin with a large head placed 
in the centre of the fquare, and by a pin witli a fmall head 
placed on one of the fides at the point 8. Here are plainly 
ten different expreftions obvious to the touch, of which 
every one anfwers to one of our ten arithmetical charaifers. 
Imagine now a table as large as you pleafe, divided into 
final! fquares, horizontally ranged, and feparated one from 
the other at fimilar diftances. Thus you will have the in- 
ftrument of Saunderfon. You may eafily conceive that 
there is not any number which one cannot exprefs upon 
