puts on a fair disguise, and therefore we should not yield up our judgment to every plausible appearance. It is no part of civility or good breeding to part with truth, but to maintain it with decency and candour.

A spirit of contradiction is so pedantic and hateful, that a man should take much pains with himself to watch against every instance of it. He should learn so much good humour, at least, as never to oppose any thing without just and solid reason for it; he should abate some degrees of pride and moroseness, which are never-failing ingredients in this sort of temper, and should seek after so much honesty and conscience as never to contend for conquest or triumph: but to review his own reasons, and to read the arguments of his opponents (if possible) with an equal indifferency, and be glad to spy truth and to submit to it, though it appear on the opposite side.*

(2) There is another pair of prejudices derived from two tempers of mind, near a-kin to those I have just mentioned; and these are the dogmatical and the sceptical humour, i. e. always positive, or always doubting.

By what means soever the dogmatist came by his opinions, whether by his senses, or by his fancy, his education, or his own reading, yet he believes them all with the same assurance that he does a mathema. tical truth; he has scarce any mere probabilities that belong to him; every thing with him is certain and infallible; every punctilio in religion is an article of his faith, and he answers all manner of objections by a sovereign contempt.

Persons of this temper are seldom to be convinced of any mistake; a full assurance of their own notions makes all the difficulties on their own side vanish so entirely that they think every point of their belief is written as with sun-beams, and wonder any one should find a difficulty in it. They are amazed that learned men should make a controversy of what is to them so perspicuous and indubitable. The lowest rank of people, both in learned and in vulgar life, is very subject to this obstinacy.

of the Trinity, if it could be explained; they incline to that foolish rant of one of the ancients, CREDO QUIA IMPOSSIBLE EST; I believe it because it is impossible.

To cure these mistakes remember that neither antique nor novel, foreign nor native, mysterious nor plain, are certain characters either of truth or falsehood.

I might mention various other humours of men' that excite in them various prejudices, and lead them into rash and mistaken judgments; but these are sufficient for a specimen.

VII. There are several other weaknesses which be long to human nature, whereby we are led into mistakes, and indeed are rendered almost incapable of passing a solid judgment in matters of great depth and difficulty. Some have a native obscurity of perception, (or shall I call it a want of natural sagacity;) whereby they are hindered from attaining clear and distinct ideas. Their thoughts always seem to have something confused and cloudy in them, and there. fore they judge in the dark. Some have a defect in memory, and then they are not capable of comparing their present ideas with a great variety of others, in order to secure themselves from inconsistency in judg ment. Others may have a memory large enough, yet they are subject to the same errors from a narrowness of soul, and such a fixation and confinement of thought to a few objects, that they scarce ever take a survey of things wide enough to judge wisely and well, and to secure themselves from all inconsistencies.

Though these are natural defects and weaknesses, yet they may in some measure be relieved by labour, diligence, and a due attention to proper rules.

But among all the causes of false judgment which are within ourselves, I ought by no means to leave out that universal and original spring of error, which we are informed of by the word of God, and that is, the sin and defection of our first parents, whereby all our best natural powers both of mind and body are impaired, and rendered very much inferior to what

they were in a state of innocence. Our understanding is darkened, our memory contracted, our corrupt hu mours and passions are grown predominant, our reason enfeebled, and various disorders attend our constitution and animal nature, whereby the mind is strangely imposed upon in his judgment of things. Nor is there any perfect relief to be expected on earth. There is no hope of ever recovering from these maladies, but by a sincere return to God in the ways of his own appointment, whereby we shall be kept safe from all dangerous and pernicious errors in matters of religion; and though imperfections and mistakes will hang about us in this present life, as the effects of our original apostacy from God, yet we hope for a full deliverance from them when we arrive at heaven.

SECT. IV. Prejudices arising from other persons.

Were it not for the springs of prejudice that are lurking in ourselves, we should not be subject to so many mistakes from the influence of others: but since our nature is so susceptive of errors on all sides, it is fit we should have hints and notice given us, how far other persons may have power over us, and become the causes of our false judgments. This might all be cast into one heap, for they are all near a-kin, and mingle with each other; but for distinction sake let them be called the prejudices of education, of custom, of authority, and such as arise from the man ner of proposal.

I. Those with whom our education is entrusted may lay the first foundation of many mistakes in our younger years. How many fooleries and errors are instilled into us by our nurses, our fellow-children, by servants, or unskilful teachers, which are not only maintained through the following part of our life, but sometimes have a very unhappy influence upon us! We are taught that there are goblins and bugbears in the dark; our young minds are crowded with the terrible ideas of ghosts appearing upon every oc casion, or with the pleasanter tales of fairies dancing at midnight. We learn to prophecy betimes, foretel

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futurities by good or evil omens, and to presage approaching death in a family by ravens and little worms, which we therefore call a death-watch. We are taught to know before-hand, for a twelve month together, which days of the week will be fair or foul, which will be lucky or unlucky; nor is there any thing so silly, but may be imposed upon our understandings in that early part of life; and these ridicu lous stories abide with us too long, and too far influence the weaker part of mankind.

We choose our particular sect and party in the civil, the religious, and the learned life, by the influence of education. In the colleges of learning, some are for the nominals, and some for the reallists, in the science of metaphysics, because their tutors were devoted to these parties. The old philosophy and the new have gained thousands of partizans the same way and every religion has its infant votaries, who are born, live and die in the same faith, without examination of any article. The Turks are taught early to believe in Mahomet; the Jews in Moses; the Heathens worship a multitude of Gods under the force of their education. And it would be well if there were not millions of Christians who have little more to say for their religion, than that they were born and bred up in it. The greatest part of the Christian world can hardly give any reason why they believe the bible to be the word of God, but because they have always believed it, and they were taught so from their infancy. As Jews and Turks, and American Heathens, believe the most monstrous and incredible stories, because they have been trained up amongst them, as articles of faith; so the Papists be lieve their transubstantiation, and make no difficulty of assenting to impossibilities, since it is the current doctrine of their catechisms. By the same means the several sects and parties in Christianity believe all the strained interpretations of scripture by which they have been taught to support their own tenets; they find nothing difficult in all the absurd glosses and farfetched senses that are sometimes put upon the words of the sacred writers, because their ears have been at

ways accustomed to these glosses; and therefore they set so smooth and easy upon their understandings that they know not how to admit the most natural and easy interpretation in opposition to them.

In the same manner we are nursed up in many silly and gross mistakes about domestic affairs, as well as in matters of political concernment. It is upon the same ground that children are trained up to be Whigs and Tories betimes; and every one learns the distinguishing terms of his own party; as the papists learn to say their prayers in Latin, without any meaning, reason or devotion.

This sort of prejudice must be cured by calling all the principles of our young years to the bar of mature reason, that we may judge of the things of nature and political affairs by juster rules of philosophy and observation; and even the matters of religion must be inquired into by reason and conscience, and when these have led us to believe scripture to be the word of God, then that becomes our sovereign guide, and reason and conscience must submit to receive its dictates.

11. The next prejudice which I shall mention is, that which arises from the custom or fashion of those amongst whom we live. Suppose we have freed ourselves from the younger prejudices of our education, yet we are in danger of having our minds turned aside from truth by the influence of a general custom.

Our opinion of meats and drinks, of garments and forms of salutation, are influenced much more by custom than by the eye, the ear, or the taste. Custom prevails over sense itself, and therefore no wonder if it prevail over reason too. What is it but custom that renders many of the mixtures of food and sauces elegant in Britain, which would be aukward and nauseous in China, and indeed were nauseous to us when we first tasted them? What but custom could make those salutations polite in Muscovy, which are ridiculous in France and England? We all call ourselves indeed the politer nations; but it is we who judge this of ourselves; and that fancied politeness is oftentimes more owing to custom than rea