93. The art of Writing is an important step in the history of language; and a powerful aid to the intellectual progress of the species.

94. The advantages with which it is accompanied, are wonderfully extended by the art of Printing, which may be justly regarded, not only as the happiest of all expedients, for facilitating the intellectual commerce of mankind, but as one of the most important events that have occurred in the history of human affairs.

• II. Of the Principle of Imitation.

95. WHENEVER we see any expression, or, in general, any change, in the countenance of another person; we have a tendency to assume the same expression, or the same change, in our own countenance. Every man is sensible of this, when he looks at another, in a rage, in a fit of laughter, or in a deep melancholy. Nor is it the visible appearance alone of others, that we have a disposition to imitate. We copy instinctively the voices of our companions, their tones, their accents, and their modes of pronunciation.

96. This tendency in our nature to imitation is attended with important advantages. It seems to be by means of it, that children acquire the use of speech; and that they learn, insensibly, to model their habits, on the appearance and manners of those with whom they are familiarly conversant.

97. As it is in early life, that the principle of imitation is of greatest use to us, so it is in infancy that we have the strongest tendency to indulge it. It is of this natural tendency, which all men have in some degree, that mimics avail themselves; till, by repeated efforts, they acquire a power of carrying it farther, than they could have done originally : or, rather, perhaps, they only contrive to retain through life a faculty, which, in the case of most men, disappears after the period of childhood.

98. The contagious nature of insanity, of convulsions, of hysteric disorders, of panics, and of all the different kinds of enthusiasm, seems to have an intimate connexion with the principle of imitation. To this class of

facts, an important addition has lately been made, in the course of the philosophical inquiries which took rise at Paris, in consequence of the cures pretended to be effected by means of animal magnetism.

SECTION XII.

Of the Intellectual Faculties of Man, as contrasted with the Instincts of the Brutes.

99. THAT the brutes are under the more immediate guidance of nature, while man is left to regulate, to a great degree, his own destiny, by the exercise of his reason; is a fact too obvious, to admit of dispute. In what manner, indeed, nature operates, in this instance, we are perfectly ignorant: but nothing can be more certain than this, that it is not by a deliberate choice, analogous to what we experience in ourselves, that the lower animals are determined to the pursuit of particular ends; nor by any process analogous to our reason, that they combine means in order to attain them.

100. To that unknown principle, which guides the operations of the brutes, we give the name of Instinct. It is distinguished from Reason by two circumstances: 1. By the uniformity with which it proceeds, in all individuals of the same species; and, 2. By the unerring certainty with which it performs its office, prior to all experience.

101. But although we do not, in such cases, ascribe reason or art to the brutes, the operations of instinct plainly indicate intelligence in that Being by whom they were formed; and who, by adapting their constitution so beautifully to the laws of the material world, has evinced an unity of design, which proves that all the different parts of the universe, animate and inanimate, are the workmanship of the same Author.

102. The wisdom of nature, as displayed in the instincts of animals, is more particularly conspicuous in those tribes, which associate in political communities:as the bee and the beaver. Here, we see animals, who, considered individually, discover but a small degree of

sagacity, conspiring together, under the guidance of a blind impulse, in the accomplishment of effects, astonishing by their magnitude, and by the complicated ingenuity they exhibit.

103. Animals, however, are left to make some small acquisitions, by experience; as sufficiently appears, in certain tribes, from the sagacity of the old, when contrasted with the ignorance of the young; and from the effects which may be produced on many of them, by discipline and education.

104. In what, then, does the difference between man and the brutes consist? Do their faculties differ from each other in degree only; or is there an essential distinction between the rational and the animal natures?

105. The French philosophers of the Cartesian school, adopted the latter opinion; and even carried it so far, as to consider the brutes as mere machines. Their successors have, in general, gone into the opposite extreme; and have employed their ingenuity, in attempting to account for the boasted superiority of man, by accidental circumstances in his bodily organization, or in his external condition.

106. In opposition to these doctrines of modern Materialists, a great variety of considerations prove; that, in respect of our intellectual and moral principles, our nature does not admit of comparison with that of any other inhabitant of this globe: the difference between our constitution and theirs, being a difference, not in degree, but in kind. Perhaps, this is the single instance, in which that regular gradation which we, every where else, observe in the universe, fails entirely. The subject is by far too extensive to be treated in these Outlines.

PART II.

OF THE ACTIVE AND OF THE MORAL POWERS OF MAN.

107. THIS part of the subject naturally divides itself into two Chapters: The first relates to the Classification and Analysis of our active and moral Powers. The second, to the various branches of our duty.

CHAPTER FIRST.

CLASSIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF OUR ACTIVE AND MORAL POWERS.

SECTION I.

Of the Active Powers in general.

108. THE word Action is properly applied to those exertions which are consequent on volition; whether the exertion be made on external objects, or be confined to our mental operations. Thus, we say, the mind is active, when engaged in study. In ordinary discourse, indeed, we are apt to confound together action and motion. As the operations in the minds of other men escape our notice, we can judge of their activity, only from the sensible effects it produces and hence we are led to apply the character of Activity, to those whose bodily activity is the most remarkable; and to distinguish mankind into two classes, the Active and the Speculative. In the present instance, the word Activity is used in its most extensive signification, as applicable to every voluntary exertion.

109. The primary sources of our activity therefore, are the circumstances that influence the will. Of these, there are some which make a part of our constitution, and which, on that account, are called Active principles. Such are, Hunger, Thirst, Curiosity, Ambition, Pity, Resentment. The most important principles of this kind may be referred to the following heads.

110. THIS class of our active principles is distinguished by the following circumstances.

(1.) They take their rise from the body, and are common to us with the brutes.

(2.) They are not constant but occasional.

(3.) They are accompanied with an uneasy sensation, which is strong or weak, in proportion to the strength or weakness of the appetite.

111. Our appetites are three in number; Hunger, Thirst, and the appetite of Sex. Of these, two were intended for the preservation of the individual; the third for the continuance of the species; and without them, reason would have been insufficient for these important purposes.

112. Our appetites can, with no propriety, be called selfish, for they are directed to their respective objects, as ultimate ends; and they must all have operated, in the first instance, prior to any experience of the pleasure arising from their gratification. Self-love, too, is often sacrificed to appetite, when we indulge ourselves in an immediate enjoyment, which we know is likely to be attended with hurtful consequences.

113. Beside our natural appetites, we have many acquired ones. Such are, an appetite for tobacco, for opium, and for intoxicating liquors. In general, every thing that stimulates the nervous system, produces a subsequent languor, which gives rise to a desire of repetition.

114. Our occasional propensities to action and to repose are, in many respects, analogous to our appetites.