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hearing the beautiful pages of Steele or Addison, the admirable descriptions of Virgil or Milton, or some of the finest poems of Pope, Young, or Dryden, once read over to them, and then lay them by for ever?

XVI. Among these writings of the latter kind we may justly reckon short miscellaneous essays on all manner of subjects; such as the Occasional Papers, the Tatlers, the Spectators, and some other books that have been compiled out of the weekly or daily products of the press, wherein are contained a great number of bright thoughts, ingenious remarks, and admirable observations, which have had a considerable share in furnishing the present age with knowledge and politeness.

I wish every paper among these writings could have been recommended both as innocent and useful. I wish every unseemly idea and wanton expression had been banished from amongst them, and every trifling page had been excluded from the company of the rest when they had been bound up in volumes; but it is not to be expected, in so imperfect a state, that every page or piece of such mixed publick papers should be entirely blameless and laudable, Yet in the main it must be confessed, there is so much virtue, prudence, ingenuity and goodness in them, especially in eight volumes of Spectators, there is such a reverence of things sacred, so many valuable remarks for our conduct in life, that they are not improper to lie in parlours, or summer-houses, or places of usual residence, to entertain our thoughts in any moments of leisure, or vacant hours that occur. There is such a discovery of the follies, iniquities aod fashionable vices of mankind contained in them, that we may learn much of

the humours and madnesses of the age and the publie world, in our own solitary retirement, without the danger of frequenting vicious company, or receiving the mortal infection.

XVII. Among other books which are proper and requisite, in order to improve our knowledge in general, or our acquaintance with any particular science, it is necessary that we should be furnished with vocabularies and dictionaries of several sorts, viz. of common words, idioms and phrases, in order to explain their sense; of technical words or the terms of art, to shew their use in arts and sciences; of names of men, countries towns, rivers &e. which are called historical and geographical distionaries, &c. These are to be consulted and used upon every occasion; and never let an unknown word pass in your reading without seeking for its sense. and meaning in some of these writers.

If such books are not at hand, you must supply the want of them as well as you can, by consulting such as can inform you and it is useful to note down the matters of doubt and enquiry in some pocket-book, and take the first opportunity to get them resolved either by per sons or books when we meet with them.

XVIII. Be not satisfied with a mere knowledge of the best authors that treat of any subject, instead of acquainting yourselves thoroughly with the subject itself. There is many a young student that is fond of enlarging his knowledge of books, and he contents himself with the notice he has of their title-page, which is the attainment of a book-seller rather than a scholar. Such per

sons are under a great temptation to practice these two follies. (1.) To heap up a great number of books at a greater expence than most of them can bear, and to furnish their libraries infinitely better than their understandings. And (2.) when they have got such rich treasures of knowledge upon their shelves, they imagine themselves men of learning, and take a pride in talking of the names of famous authors, and the subjects of which they treat, without any real improvement of their own minds in true science or wisdom. At best their learning reaches no farther than the indexes and tables of contents, while they know not how to judge or reason concerning the matters contained in those authors.

And indeed how many volumes of learning soever a man possesses, he is still deplorably poor in his understanding, till he has made these several parts of learning his own property, by reading and reasoning, by judg. ing for himself, and remembring what he has read.

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I.

CHAPTER V.

Judgment of Books.

IF WE would form a judgment of a book which

we have not seen before, the first thing that offers is the title-page, and we may sometimes guess a little at the import and design of a book thereby; though it must be confest that titles are often deceitful, and promise more than the book performs. The author's name, if it be known in the world, may help us to conjecture at the performance a little more, and lead us to guess in what manner it is done. A perusal of the preface or introduction, (which I before recommended) may further assist our judgment; and if there be an index of the contents, it will give us still some advancing light.

If we have not leisure or inclination to read over the book itself regularly, then by the titles of chapters we may be directed to peruse several particular chapters or sections, and observe whether there be any thing valuable or important in them. We shall find thereby whether the author explains his ideas clearly, whether he reasons strongly, whether he methodizes well, whether his thoughts and sense be manly and his manner polite; or, on the other hand, whether he be obscure, weak, trifling and confused; or, finally, whether the matter may not be solid and substantial, though the manner or style be rude and disagreeable.

II. By having run through several chapters and seetions in this manner, we may generally judge whether the treatise be worth a complete perusal or no. But if by such an occasional survey of some chapters our expectation be utterly discouraged, we may well lay aside that book; for there is great probability he can be but an indifferent writer on that subject, if he affords but one prize to divers blanks, and it may be, some downright blots too. The piece can hardly be valued, if in seven or eight chapters which we peruse there be but little truth, evidence, force of reasoning, beauty and ingenuity of thought, &c. mingled with much error, ignorance, impertinence, dulness, mean and common thoughts, inaccuracy, sophistry, railing, &c. Life is too short, and time is too precious, to read every new book quite over in order to find that it is not worth the reading.

III. There are some general mistakes which persons are frequently guilty of in passing a judgment on the books which they read.

One is this, when a treatise is written but tolerably well, we are ready to pass a favorable judgment of it, and sometimes to exalt its character far beyond its merit, if it agree with our own principles, and support the opinions of our party. On the other hand, if the author be of different sentiments, and espouse contrary principles, we can find neither wit nor reason, good sense nor good language in it. Whereas, alas! if our opinions of things were certain and infallible truth, yet a silly author may draw his pen in the defence of them, and he may attack even gross errors with feeble and ridiculous arguments. Truth in this world is not always attended and support

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