20 Religion and Virtue, S E it M. whether they are not the wifeft men, who I. form the difpofitions of their minds and `' " ' their praaice by its rules. One notion of wifdom is, that it confift- eth in a right judgment of things, of their nature, fo far as that falls within our know- ledge, of their properties, relations, differ- ences, and of their ends and ufes. The difference between the wifeft man, and the weakeft, in underftanding, doth not lie in the materials of their knowledge, if I may fpeak fo ; they have the fame ideas, the fame reprefentations of objets in their mind conveyed by their fenfes : But whe- ther it be for want of equal capacity, op- portunity, or diligence, the one bath not fo thoroughly examined, and Both not fo well difcern their agreement or difagreement, their relations, diftinaions, and ufes, as the other. A defect here muft have a very un- happy influence on our condu t, which muft be formed according to our fentiments and opinions of things. A man who is not able to diftinguifh, cannot know how to determine his choice, what to do, or for- bear ; what to chufe, or refufe ; like a blind man placed among a great variety of things, .fome good and fome bad, who hath nothing to
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