life, was labouring to preserve it from its enemies; being, I am clearly of opinion, the best man of his time. The qualities however of morals that belong to taste, that interest and repel disgust, were Cæsar's; and those which win our colder approbation through the medium of reflection, were Cicero's. Nevertheless, should a servile imitator characteristically adopt the foibles of a Cicero, and fancy that by so doing he acquired his virtue, he would so little attain his end, that he would be wandering still farther from it; as common sense must seem to dictate, that every species of excellence, wherever found, is desirable to persons endeavouring to be, as far as they can naturally, either upon a large or a small scale, serviceable to their fellow creatures. pru A leaning towards fitness is favourably exemplified in the person who distinguishes himself dently and rationally, as the champion of religion and morality; and while he forbears, as much as possible, to fetter the powers of man, is labouring to deliver down to posterity, unimpaired, the standard of Christian virtue. He will be able to see through shallow declamations against war in the abstract, when that necessary evil is the only method of extricating his country from present trouble, and obtaining for it secure peace: convinced, he can accomplish his own plans of benevolence in no other way, than by steadily and openly supporting, at critical times, those of the government, on which they depend. Such a person is, on many accounts, of the first use to a community; for even the indulgence of the passions has been thought more gratifying for the regulations of principle, of which he is the guard; and of this temperance is an instance. Though vice has certainly in its power to yield some exclusive pleasures to individuals, yet virtue, if accompanied with wisdom, renders societies flourishing; and therefore if its exclusive pleasures do not balance those of vice to every individual of the present time, it may by a perseverance in useful and honourable policy, to his posterity, and thus pay, by degrees, every debt of justice with ample interest. So necessary is it for principle to bear a considerable proportion to passion in the world! In describing a bad example of the leaning towards fitness, I need not inveigh long in this loyal country, and at the present period, against what may be called that mathematical benevolence, which computes the immediate, apparent good that can result from different courses of conduct, and adopts that which is followed by the greatest, though attended by a gross violation of the laws, and as gross an injury to the feelings. It is certain, that such immediate apparent good, ought to be constantly reflected upon, and continually, as far as possible, regulate our mode of adhering to laws and principles, which long experience has proved founded upon nature; but the wise and the well meaning are not tempted to proceed farther. They always suppose differences made in every case by varieties in the human character and understanding, and by the good consequence of respecting motives, the source of actions, no less than actions; as to promote the happiness of man, they judge it necessary to study his mind and nature, and for that purpose to permit them quietly to unfold themselves during a long period of time, instead of appearing always altered by the distorting hurry they derive from a systematic benevolence. To guard against the evils of this inconsiderate manner of doing, or rather attempting good, Burke, when he wrote against the French Atheists, recommended politeness, in preference to justice, as a principle of conduct; and indeed it is a more natural one, and more easily understood and acted from by the mass of mankind. Yet many are far from infallible, who pretend to it; nor are they always qualified for reading lectures upon its merits to those whom they would teach. Happily no worse character than such a pretender is common enough to form a striking instance of fitness ill understood; and I shall therefore venture a caution against his prejudices. It does not follow, because politeness is highly praise-worthy, that therfore the qualities of a Chesterfield enable a man to rule a country better than those of a Chatham; that any one's literary character, or claims on the public, are in the exact proportion of his supposed urbanity: or that it shews bad breeding to speak the truth, when it confutes the arguments of another extremely desirous of establishing a particular point. It is possible for this kind of reasoning, however, to be made a fatal use of by one of this cast, who has no sincere wish for the advancement of any art or science, or the recompence of any merit, while he raises his sober hue and cry at the slightest appearance of incorrectness in the actions of his competitor for distinction; and influences his weak acquaintance, whatever literary or political tricks he would per form, to keep the theatre always clear for his own exhibitions, however unedifying and attractive. But this is to cultivate politeness upon commercial principles, and to leave out of the idea of the accomplished man that uncorrupted honour and purity of heart, by which it was distinguished in the departed days of chivalry. DEFECT AND DEFORMITY, How By these principles I mean the opposite to fitness. It may seem strange to look about equally for favourable and unfavourable examples of them, as what is defective and deformed, cannot be supposed, strictly speaking, at any time eligible, in itself, or as such; but those rules, a transgression of which suggests the idea of it being, as made by man, imperfect, not only are they liable to be altered, so far as not to explain away the obvious dictates of Christian morality, but, in the mean time, a slight violation of some few is to be winked at. In describing two opposite principles, it may be expected I should instance in the good examples of the one, the opposite to the bad examples I may instance of the other. I however do not, because F |