102 THE IMMPRPVEMENT ÒP Tim MINA. more abstracted and intellectual." Therefore diagrams greatly assist the mind in astronomy' and philosophy ; anti theemblems - of virtues and vices, may happily teach children, and pleasingly impress those usefùl moral ideas on young minds; which perhaps might be conveyed to them with much more difficulty by mere moral and abstracted 'discoursès:' I confess in this practice of representing moral subjects by pictures; we should be cautious lest we so far immerse the mind in corporeal images, as to render it unfit to take in an abstracted and intellectual idea, or cause it to form wrong conceptions, of imniaterial things. This praetiçe therefore is rather to be. Used at first in order to get a fixed habit of attention, and in same cases only ; but it can never be our constant way and method of pursuing all moral, abstracted and spiritual themes. III. " Apply yourself to those studies, and read those au- thors who draw out their'subjects into a perpetual chain of con- nected reasonings," wherein the following parts of the discourse are naturally and easily derived" from those which go before.- Several of the mathematical sciences, if not all, are happily useful'for'this purpose. This will render the labour of study 'de- lightful to a rational mind; and' will fix thepowers of the under- standingwith strong attention to their proper operations by the very pleasure of it. 'Labor ipse voluptas, is a happy proposition wheresoever it can be applied. IV. is Do net chuse your constant placeof study by the finery of the prospects, or the most various and entertaining scenes of sensible things." Toomuch light, or a variety' of objects which strike the eye or the ear, especially while they are ever in motion or often changing, have a natural and powerful tendency to steal awaythe mind too often from'its steady pursuit of any subject which we contemplate ; and thereby the soul gets a habit of silly cariosity and impertinence, of 'trifling and wandering. Vagano thoughthimself furnished with thebeat closet for his study among the beauties, gaieties and diversions Of Kensington or h ampton- Court ; but after seven years professing to pursue learning, he was a merenovice still. V. Ó° Be not too much in haste to come to the determination of a difficult or important point." Think it Worth' your waiting to fiuti'out truth. DO not give your assent up toeither side of a questiòn'too soon, merely on this account, that the studyof it is long and difCult. Rather be contented with ignorance fora sea- son, and continue in sïrspense till your attention and Meditation and duelabour have found out sufficient evidence on one side.--= Some are' so fond to know a great deal atonce, and love to talk of things with freedom and boldness before they thoroughly un-, derstand them, that they'scareelyever allow themselves 'attention enough, to search the matter through and through.
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