SECT. II.

PROGRESS OF REASON.

A Progrefs from infancy to maturity in the mind of man, fimi

lar to that in his body, has been often mentioned. The external fenfes, being early neceffary for felf-preservation, arrive quickly at maturity. The internal senses are of a flower growth, as well as every other mental power: their maturity would be of little or no use while the body is weak, and unfit for action. Reafoning, as obferved in the first fection, requires two mental powers, viz. the power of invention, and that of perceiving relations. By the former power are discovered intermediate propofitions, equally related to the fundamental propofition and to the conclufion; and that relation is verified by the latter power. Both powers are neceffary to the perfon who frames an argument, or a chain of reafoning: the latter only to the perfon who judges of it. Savages are miserably deficient in both. With respect to the former, a favage may have a pregnant talent for invention; but it will ftand him in little ftead without a stock of ideas enabling him to felect what may answer the purpose; and what opportunity has a favage to acquire such a stock? With respect to the latter, he knows little of relations and how fhould he know, when both study and practice are neceffary for distinguishing between relations, and for preventing the being impofed on by the fhadow of a relation instead of the fubftance? The understanding, at the fame time, among the illiterate, is obfequious to passion and prepoffeffion;

poffeffion; and among them the imagination acts without control, forming conclufions often no better than mere dreams. In fhort, confidering the many causes that mislead from just reafoning, in days efpecially of ignorance, the erroneous and abfurd opinions that have prevailed in the world, and that continue in fome measure to prevail, are far from being furprising. Were reafon our only guide in the conduct of life, we should have cause to complain; but our Maker has provided us with the moral fense, a guide little fubject to error in matters of importance. In the sciences, reafon is effential; but in the conduct of life, which is our chief concern, reafon may be an useful affiftant; but to be our director is not its province.

The national progrefs of reafon has been flower in Europe, than that of any other art. Statuary, painting, architecture, and other fine arts, approach nearer perfection, as well as morality and natural history. Manners, it is true, and every art that appears externally, may in part be acquired by imitation and example: in reafoning there is nothing external to be laid hold of. But there is befide a particular cause that regards Europe, which is the blind deference that for many ages was paid to Ariftotle; who has kept the reafoning faculty in chains more than two thoufand years. In his logics, the plain and fimple mode of reasoning is rejected, that which Nature dictates; and in its ftead is introduced an artificial mode, fhowy but unsubstantial: it is of no ufe in difcovering truth, but nobly contrived for wrangling and difputation. Confidering that reafon for fo many ages has been locked up in the enchanted caftle of fyllogifm, where empty phantoms pafs for realities, the flow progrefs of reafon toward maturity is far from being furprifing. The taking of Conftantinople, ann. 1453, opened a new fcene, which in time relieved the world from the ufurpation of Aristotle, and restored reafon to her privileges. All the knowledge of Europe was centred in Conftantinople;

VOL. II.

e

stantinople; and the learned men of that city, abhorring the Turks and their government, took refuge in Italy. The Greek language was introduced among the western nations of Europe; and the study of Greek and Roman claffics became fashionable. Men, having acquired new ideas, began to think for themselves: they exerted their native faculty of reafon: the futility of Aristotle's logics became apparent to the penetrating; and is now apparent to all. Yet fo late as the year 1621, several persons were banished from Paris for contradicting that philosopher, about matter and form, and about the number of the elements. And fhortly after, the parliament of Paris prohibited, under pain of death, any thing to be taught contrary to the doctrines of Aristotle. Julius II. and Leo X. Roman Pontiffs, contributed zealously to the reformation of letters; but they did not foresee that they were alfo contributing to the reformation of religion, and of every fcience that depends on reafoning. Tho' the fetters of fyllogifm have many years ago been fhaken off, yet, like a limb long kept from motion, the reasoning faculty has fcarcely to this day attained its free and natural exercife. Mathematics is the only fcience that never has been cramped by fyllogifm, and we find reasoning there in great perfection, at an early period. The very flow progress of reasoning in other matters, will appear from the following induction.

To exemplify erroneous and abfurd reafonings of every fort, would be endless. The reader, I prefume, will be fatisfied with a few inftances; and I fhall endeavour to felect what are amufing. For the fake of order, I divide them into three heads. First, Inftances fhowing the imbecility of human reafon during its nonage. Second, Erroneous reafoning occafioned by natural biaffes. Third, Erroneous reafoning occafioned by acquired biaffes. With refpect to the first, inftances are endless of reasonings founded on erroneous premiffes. It was an Epicurean doctrine, That the gods

have all of them a human figure; moved by the following argument, that no being of any other figure has the ufe of reafon. Plato, taking for granted the following erroneous propofition, That every being which moves itself, muft have a foul, concludes that the world must have a foul, because it moves itself (a). Aristotle taking it for granted, without the least evidence, and contrary to truth, that all heavy bodies tend to the centre of the universe, proves the earth to be the centre of the universe by the following argument. "Heavy bodies naturally tend to the centre "of the univerfe: we know by experience that heavy bodies "tend to the centre of the earth: therefore the centre of the earth "is the centre of the univerfe." Appion ridicules the Jews for adhering fo literally to the precept of refting on their fabbath, as to fuffer Jerufalem to be taken that day by Ptolomy fon of Lagus. Mark the answer of Jofephus : "Whoever paffes a fober judge"ment on this matter, will find our practice agreeable to honour "and virtue; for what can be more honourable and virtuous, "than to poftpone our country, and even life itself, to the fer"vice of God, and of his holy religion?" A ftrange idea of religion, to put it in direct oppofition to every moral principle!· A fuperftitious and abfurd doctrine, That God will interpofe by a miracle, to declare what is right in every matter of controversy, has occafioned much erroneous reafoning and abfurd practice. The practice of determining controverfies by fingle combat, commenced about the feventh century, when religion had degenerated into fuperftition, and courage was efteemed the only moral virtue. The parliament of Paris, in the reign of Charles VI. appointed a fingle combat between two gentlemen, in order to have the judgement of God, whether the one had committed a rape on

the

the other's wife. In the 1454, John Picard being accufed by his fon-in-law for too great familiarity with his wife, a duel between them was appointed by the fame parliament. Voltaire justly obferves, that the parliament decreed a parricide to be committed, in order to try an accufation of inceft, which poffibly was not committed. The trials by water and by fire, reft on the fame erroneous foundation. In the former, if the perfon accused funk to the bottom, it was a judgement pronounced by God, that he was innocent: if he kept above, it was a judgement that he was guilty. Fleury (a) remarks, that if ever the perfon accufed was found guilty, it was his own fault. In Sicily, a woman accufed of adultery, was compelled to fwear to her innocence: the oath, taken down in writing, was laid on water; and if it did not fink, the woman was innocent. We find the fame practice in Japan, and in Malabar. One of the articles infifted on by the reformers in Scotland, was, That public prayers be made and the facraments administered in the vulgar tongue. The anfwer of a provincial council was in the following words: "That to conceive public

prayers, or administer the facraments, in any language but La"tin, is contrary to the traditions and practice of the Catholic “ church for many ages past; and that the demand cannot be "granted, without impiety to God, and difobedience to the "church." Here it is taken for granted, that the practice of the church is always right; which is building an argument on a very rotten foundation. The Caribbeans abftain from fwines flefh; taking it erroneoufly for granted, that fuch food would make them have small eyes, held by them a great deformity. They alfo abstain from eating turtle; which they think would infect them with the laziness and stupidity of that animal. Upon the fame er

(a) Hiftoire Ecclefiaftique.

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