The tho' there is a great propensity in mankind to exaggerate what they do not comprehend, and when a thing does not exactly meet their approbation, to make it appear in a light which it does not deserve, yet it can hardly be supposed that the remarks here offered are directed against society in general, or even against those evils which seem to be inseparable from the condition of human nature. great art of life is to distinguish, for want of which men are perpetually in error and at variance with each other. It is of great importance, to discriminate between those evils which are temporary and casual, and those which are essentially connected with the nature of things. It is for this purpose that I have written; for being fully and firmly of opinion that many of the miseries which at present shorten and disturb our existence, are capable of being removed by the exertion of our reason, I have ventured to suggest to the consideration of thinking and benevolent men, the probable source of many of the evils which exist in the world, that by frequently revolving these things in their minds, they may endeavor, by moral melioration and political improvement, to lessen the load of human calamity, to in N THE PRINCIPAL MORAL WRITERS Morality MORALITY is the science which teaches defined.. men their duty to themselves and to each other, and, without depreciating the value of the rest, it may be justly affirmed, that none is more excellent than morality, for as the knowledge of our true interest is the surest means of happiness, that wisdom must be far above all other, which teaches us to enjoy the blessings of life, and to mitigate its calamites. The most complete acquaintance with the operations of nature is not to be compared with a knowledge of the human mind and the great duties of morality, tho' the former is by no means to be neglected in the search after happiness, for as the comforts of life contribute in no small degree to its enjoyment, the pursuits of natural and experimental philosophy which have increased and extended these comforts, are to be taken into the estimate of useful Considered the Sciences The subjat propond. 100 acquirements. It is of the first importance that we faithfully discharge the relative duties of parent, child, and citizen, and so far as a knowledge of the uses and properties of nature, by qualifying us for any useful employment, contributes to this purpose, so far it deserves our attention and regard. These remarks are premised to teach us how to ap'preciate the value of different sciences, and to place in its proper light, the merit of that which it is here proposed to consider. Without duly understanding the nature of what we intend either to study or perform, we are in danger of being perpetually misled by an appearance of utility, and of giving an unjust preference to things of comparatively small importance; it is from hence only that we see so many men engaged in trifling and vicious pursuits, or wasting their time in fruitless researches, and that the great end of our nature, and the principal means of our happiness, are so frequently misconceived. Morality being the study which, for its practical uses, most deserves our attention, it will not, I trust, be deemed a useless or unprofitable employment, either to myself or others, if I attempt to estimate the relative merits of the principal moralists, and systems of mo rality, by comparing them together, with a view to enable those who have leisure and talents to judge for themselves, to adopt the best motives and the best rules for their con duct in society. The most eminent moral moral unless writers may be divided into three sorts, viz.- unded into those who have given their advice in precepts, 3 clase apologues, and treatises,-those who have en quired into the foundations of morality and the nature of man, and those who have united these different methods together. The sources the Sources, of morality are not difficult to be discovered, morality even by those who look for them independent of any divine communication; they are to be found in our mutual wants and dependencies, and the progress of that stream which has its origin in our common nature, may be easily followed thro' all the mazes of society, in its advances from rudeness to refinement. In mo Nat. rals as in criticism, and in every other branch mactice, of knowledge, the practice will be found to theory .. have gone before the theory, for men feel an impulse to action before they have leisure to reason upon their motives. Homer wrote his Iliad, before Aristotle published his Treatise on Poetry, and moral actions arising from a sense of their utility, must have preceded moral precepts. Men forming by degrees just |