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Article ON THE FALSE LEARNING OF THE PRESENT AGE. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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On The False Learning Of The Present Age.
that her badges have lost their customary distinction , and are become as equivocal tests as ribbands and stars . Besides the operation of this impertinent mixture of fashion , in extending the surface , and contracting the depth of knowledge , it may be made a question , whether some of those inventions on which humanity prides itself the most , may not be in some sort chargeable on similar
a ground . I contemplate the art of printing with a pious sort of gratitude , wdien I consider it as nobly instrumental towards the propagation of truths , which laid claim to universality , ' and involved the immortal interests of the soul . I regard it with reverence , as the only weapon of power to cope with the spreading usurpations of prejudice and errorwhich were not to be overcome b partial
, y opposition , or temporary exertions : with the gigantic arms with which this art has furnished us , we have been enabled to grapple with Error in her remotest retreats , and expose her under all her disguises . Unhappily , however , the assistance which this art affords lis , is of a mercenary nature : indifferent in itself , it obeys whatever impulse and direction are iven to it ; and in a certain ratio with our spreadr
g , ing enquiries , delusions and false li ghts have been unhappily multiplied . When the tones of public reasoning , by being overstretched , grow lax and nerveless , and a wanton spirit of change gets abroad , under pretence of illumination and discovery . ; when a secret corruption has invaded our stores of accumulated knowled ge , and a corroding infidelity is consuming the very core of philosophy . ; our
admiration is turned to regret , in contemplating this mi ghty engine of intellectual rule , in the hands of a natural foe , disposed to use it to our destruction , and leave us nothing- but the monuments of faded vigour and lost perfection . - . But there are other circumstances in the tendency of this noble invention , which are but too favourable to false learning . The multilication of books
p on every subject , has occasioned to some a perplexity of choice in the destination of their views , that has long suspended their application ; and to others , an uncontroulable passion for reading , that intrenches upon the time that belongs to reflection , and harrasses the mind in a perpetual chase , by starting at each minute fresh objects of pursuit . The character of a book-purchaserknown
, in ancient times , and so common in our own , seems to spread with the increase of this literary merchandise . A good library is now a part of every gentleman ' s establishment ; and if the learning of a wealthy man be but elegantly bound , no matter in how small a compass , or how great a waste of margin . It is a common thing for a modern scholar to found his fame on the arrangement of his library ;
tender , the meanwhile , of its repose , and viewing it with a sort of platonic love , that suffers no thoughts of actual fruition to break the serenity of his contemplations ; while others , with a passion for distinction , without an idea of difference , rest their claims to literary eminence on their painful acquisition of scarce editions , of which their admiration is as groundless as that with which children prefer a
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The False Learning Of The Present Age.
that her badges have lost their customary distinction , and are become as equivocal tests as ribbands and stars . Besides the operation of this impertinent mixture of fashion , in extending the surface , and contracting the depth of knowledge , it may be made a question , whether some of those inventions on which humanity prides itself the most , may not be in some sort chargeable on similar
a ground . I contemplate the art of printing with a pious sort of gratitude , wdien I consider it as nobly instrumental towards the propagation of truths , which laid claim to universality , ' and involved the immortal interests of the soul . I regard it with reverence , as the only weapon of power to cope with the spreading usurpations of prejudice and errorwhich were not to be overcome b partial
, y opposition , or temporary exertions : with the gigantic arms with which this art has furnished us , we have been enabled to grapple with Error in her remotest retreats , and expose her under all her disguises . Unhappily , however , the assistance which this art affords lis , is of a mercenary nature : indifferent in itself , it obeys whatever impulse and direction are iven to it ; and in a certain ratio with our spreadr
g , ing enquiries , delusions and false li ghts have been unhappily multiplied . When the tones of public reasoning , by being overstretched , grow lax and nerveless , and a wanton spirit of change gets abroad , under pretence of illumination and discovery . ; when a secret corruption has invaded our stores of accumulated knowled ge , and a corroding infidelity is consuming the very core of philosophy . ; our
admiration is turned to regret , in contemplating this mi ghty engine of intellectual rule , in the hands of a natural foe , disposed to use it to our destruction , and leave us nothing- but the monuments of faded vigour and lost perfection . - . But there are other circumstances in the tendency of this noble invention , which are but too favourable to false learning . The multilication of books
p on every subject , has occasioned to some a perplexity of choice in the destination of their views , that has long suspended their application ; and to others , an uncontroulable passion for reading , that intrenches upon the time that belongs to reflection , and harrasses the mind in a perpetual chase , by starting at each minute fresh objects of pursuit . The character of a book-purchaserknown
, in ancient times , and so common in our own , seems to spread with the increase of this literary merchandise . A good library is now a part of every gentleman ' s establishment ; and if the learning of a wealthy man be but elegantly bound , no matter in how small a compass , or how great a waste of margin . It is a common thing for a modern scholar to found his fame on the arrangement of his library ;
tender , the meanwhile , of its repose , and viewing it with a sort of platonic love , that suffers no thoughts of actual fruition to break the serenity of his contemplations ; while others , with a passion for distinction , without an idea of difference , rest their claims to literary eminence on their painful acquisition of scarce editions , of which their admiration is as groundless as that with which children prefer a