The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 11 (of 12)Hazlitt, William
Philosophy
The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 11 (of 12)
Hazlitt, William
English essays -- 19th century
He adds,—‘This train of regulated thoughts is of two kinds: one, when of
an effect imagined, we seek the causes or means that produce it; and
this is common to man and beast. The other is when imagining anything
whatsoever, we seek all the possible effects that can by it be produced:
that is to say, we imagine what we can do with it when we have it. Of
which I have not at any time seen any sign but in man only; for this is
a curiosity hardly incident to the nature of any living creature that
has no other passion but sensual, such as are hunger, thirst, lust, and
anger. In sum, the discourse of the mind when it is governed by design,
is nothing but seeking or the faculty of invention, which the Latins
call _sagacitas_ and _solertia_, a finding out of the causes of some
effect, present or past; or of the effects of some present or past
cause. Sometimes a man desires to know the event of an action; and then
he thinketh of some like action past, and the events thereof one after
another; supposing like events will follow like actions. As he that
foresees what will become of a criminal, re-cons what he has seen follow
on the like crime before; having this order of thoughts, the crime, the
officer, the prison, the judge, and the gallows, which kind of thoughts
is called foresight, and prudence or providence; and sometimes wisdom;
though such conjecture, through the difficulty of observing all
circumstances, be very fallacious. But this is certain; by how much one
man has more experience of things past than another; by so much also he
is more prudent; and his expectations the seldomer fail him. The present
only has a being in nature; things past have a being in the memory only,
but things to come have no being at all; the future being but a fiction
of the mind, applying the sequels of actions past to the actions that
are present; which with most certainty is done by him that has most
experience; but not with certainty enough, and though it be called
prudence when the event answereth our expectation, yet in its own nature
it is but presumption; for the foresight of things to come, which is
providence, belongs only to him by whose will they are to come: from him
only, and supernaturally, proceeds prophecy. The best prophet naturally
is the best guesser; and the best guesser, he that is most versed and
studied in the matters he guesses at; for he hath most signs to guess
by.’—Page 10.
After this account he immediately adds,—
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