180 
PHILO 
other hand, is truly enlightened, who has not only freed 
himfelf from the luperftitions derived from authority, and 
retained from habit and imitation; but has learned to 
conceive diftinCtly the pure do&rines of moral religion, 
and the grounds of his necefl'ary belief in their truth. A 
man may have very diftinCt: and trueconceptions on fome 
fubje&s, and yet be a Have to prejudice on others. He 
may therefore be partially enlightened, or univerfally and 
completely enlightened. He who conceives diftinCtly the 
ends of his fenfible nature, or of his inftinCt for enjoyment, 
who knows how to judge correCtly and to proportion the 
means to the end, is undoubtedly enlightened with refpeCt 
to his earthly happinefs. He has the enlightenment of pru¬ 
dence ; but he may be extremely unenlightened with re¬ 
gard to his higher deftination, namely, that of his pro- 
greflive moral and intellectual improvement- In this 
cafe he will not confider the legality or illegality of his 
happinefs, but purfue it without hefitation. His en¬ 
lightenment is indeed genuine and true; but it is partial, 
it regards merely the wants and ends of his fenfible nature, 
to the exclulion of all that refers to his fuperfenfible na¬ 
ture. But an enlightenment which comprifes the whole 
deftination of man, both fenfible and fuperfenfible, which 
proceeds on the conviction that his progrefiive intellectual 
and moral improvement is his higheftgood; and that hap¬ 
pinefs is only worthy to be defired and fought by man 
when it accords with the purfuit of knowledge and vir¬ 
tue ; this enlightenment is complete ; and is juftly called 
the enlightenment of wifdom, as a diftinCt and complete 
knowledge of man’s entire deftination is true wifdom. 
A complete enlightenment does not mean one that ex¬ 
tends to every thing that can be known by man. We af- 
cribe it to him who has an unprejudiced and diftinCt know¬ 
ledge of all that it is eflential for him to know in order to 
attain his entire deftination as man, or in refpeCt to his 
individual lituation. A peafant is completely enlight¬ 
ened, provided he has diftinCt conceptions, not only of 
what belongs to his daily occupation, but of the duties 
incumbent on him as a father, a lnifband, a citizen, See. 
and of the truth of morality and religion, which no man 
ought to be ignorant of, however great his ignorance may 
be in other departments of human knowledge. On the 
contrary, the enlightenment of that man is very defective 
who is merely converfant with the learned fciences, and 
l^as but confufed notions of the higheft and laft ends of 
his exiftence. 
There can be no doubt that genuine and true enlight¬ 
enment, even when partial and incomplete, has at lealt an 
intellectual value; for clearnefs and diftinCtnefs is cer¬ 
tainly better than obfeurity and confufion. The more 
the underftanding has acquired a readinefs in clearing up 
its obfeure feelings and ideas, and the more numerous the 
objeCts are to which this diftinCtnefs of thinking applies, 
confequently the more the different departments of know¬ 
ledge cohere and mutually elucidate each other, thus 
conftituting a whole which approaches to the idea of a 
complete and comprehenfive enlightenment, the more 
completely cultivated the underftanding is. But, befides 
this logical or intellectual value, enlightenment has alfo 
a practical value, which is however denied by its enemies. 
The effeCt of conceptions and ideas upon the will may 
be varioufly confidered : firft, with regard to the good or 
bad^direCtion they may give to the will; fecondly, to their 
power, the intenfive ftrength with which they aCt upon 
it; and, laftly, with regard to the duration and uniform¬ 
ity of their operation. We can by no means fay, that 
enlightened and diftinCt conceptions neceffarily give to 
the will a true direction, and unenlightened conceptions 
a falfe one ; that the former muft always impel him to do 
good, and the latter to do evil. Experience teaches us 
that clear and diftinCt conceptions as frequently beget 
evil and injurious as good and beneficial refolutions. 
The ambitious politician, who feeks to elevate himfelf by 
the ruin of the ftate and thoufands of his fellow-citizens, 
may have very diftinCt conceptions of the means which 
SOPHY. 
his cunning has invented and his prudence ufed for the 
attainment of his objeCt. And it muft be equally ad¬ 
mitted, that confufed and indiftinCt reprefentations, with 
the obfeure feelings excited by them, very often produce 
laudable and ufeful aCtions. Nay, it frequently happens 
that obfeure reprefentations have a much greater power 
in determining the will, in confoling the mind, and in 
moderating the paffions, than the cleared: and moft diftinCt 
conceptions. The religious feeling of many individuals, 
and indeed of many nations, though little enlightened 
on the fubjeCt of religion, the influence of good manners 
and habits originating in obfeure reprefentations and 
feelings, has often been greater than that of determinate 
laws whofe grounds have been diftinCtly conceived. We 
have feen the extraordinary effeCt of an expreflion but 
half underftood, fuch as Liberty, Equality, See. Thefe 
and a multitude of fimilar phenomena fatisfaCtorily prove, 
that conceptions and pofitions moft diftinCtly compre¬ 
hended and adopted with the full conviction of their 
truth, are not to be compared, as to their intenfive power, 
with many obfeure notions and opinions adopted folely 
upon authority, or from a mere prejudice in favour of an¬ 
tiquity. The former, however, have a decided preference 
as to their lading and uniform influence upon the will 
and aCtions. Whence comes it that men little enlight¬ 
ened, though their zeal and energy may be great for a 
time, are To apt to relax in their efforts ? Becaufe their 
conception of what is ufeful and eflential to their fchemes, 
of what is their duty, Sec. wants ftability and firmnefs, as 
w’ell as light and clearnefs. What is naturally more 
changeable and untenable than indiftinCt and .confufed 
conceptions, and the feelings they excite? How eafily 
may they be fupplanted and deprived of all their efficacy 
by other conceptions equally obfeure and indiftinCt? 
Thus the bigot becomes a free-thinker from the influence 
of example, of novelty, of the idea that, by the rejection 
or even mockery of what is confidered facred by others, 
he fhall acquire credit for fuperior acutenefs and ftrength 
of mind. A mixture of many obfeure thoughts and feel¬ 
ings has overpowered for the prefent the obfeure con¬ 
ceptions and feelings which had made him a bigot. At 
another time, a people, or at leaft a confiderable part of- 
them, fhall pafs from republicanifm to the greateft vene¬ 
ration of monarchy, becaufe the confufed conceptions 
they entertain of the happinefs of republican freedom, 
when the fanaticifm they excited has loft the charm of 
novelty, cannot maintain themfelves againft the impofing 
afpeCf of a bold, enterprifing, and victorious, monarch. 
How does it happen that the unenlightened are fo rarely 
confident ? that they fo feldotn remain within the bounds 
of prudence and moderation ? that at one time they do 
too much, and at another too little ? How does it happen 
that they fo often follow perverfe ways which lead them 
from their aim ? Undoubtedly becaufe they are given 
up to the blind impulfe of obfeure feelings, for want of the 
fafe guidance of clear and diftinCt conceptions. In this 
fituation are many parents with refpeCt to the education 
of their children. But a man of clear infight and firm 
principles will not allow himfelf to be induced by example, 
by the love of imitation, by praife, the cenfure or the de- 
rifion of others, to give up his practical conviction and 
the maxims adopted upon good reafon. Whoever dif¬ 
tinCtly comprehends the ends he aims at, the means to be 
ufed, and the obftacles to be conquered, will form his 
plan with prudence, and always keep himfelf within the 
bounds of moderation in purfuing it: he will evince an 
uniformity of fentiment and of will in his whole conduCt. 
But has enlightenment merely a logical and a pruden¬ 
tial value, without any of a higher moral kind? The 
anfwer is eafy : As there is nothing in the world, no abi¬ 
lity, no fkill, no talent of the mind, that can be confider¬ 
ed as abl'olutely good, except a good will ; as every thing 
elfe is good or bad as it is ufed for good or bad ends ; fo 
it is with enlightenment, which may become the inftru- 
ment either of a good or a bad will. It is not to be de- 
feribed 
