mineralogy; or, when it comes to practice here, will he be content, after all, with the old line of argument, and elegant disquisition, with the old generalities and subtleties of definition, which required no collection of particulars, which were independent of observation, or for which the popular accidental observation sufficed? 'Better travels, I suppose, had the Stoics taken in this argument, as far as I can gather by that which we have at secondhand. _But yet_ it is like it was after their manner, rather in subtlety of definitions, which, in a subject of this nature, are _but curiosities_, than _in_ ACTIVE _and_ AMPLE DESCRIPTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS. So, likewise, I find some particular writings of _an elegant nature_, touching some of the affections; as of anger, of comfort upon adverse accidents, of tenderness of countenance, and others.' And such writings were not confined to the ancients. Some of us have seen elegant writings of this nature, published under the name of the philosopher who composes this criticism, and suggests the possibility of essays of a more lively and _experimental_ kind, and who seems to think that the treatment should be _ample_, as well as _active_. '_But_ the POETS and WRITERS of HISTORY are the best _Doctors_ of _this knowledge_, where we may find, painted forth with great _life_, _how affections are kindled and incited_, and _how pacified_ and _refrained_;'--certainly, that is the kind of learning we want here:--'and how, again, contained from _act_ and _further degree_'--very useful knowledge, one would say, and it is a pity it should not be 'diffused,' but it is not every poet who can be said to have it;--'_how_ they disclose themselves--_how_ they work--how they vary;'--this is the science of them clearly, _whoever_ has it;--'how they gather and fortify--how they are _enwrapped one within another_;'--yes, there is one Poet, one Doctor of this science, in whom we can find _that_ also;--'and how they do fight and encounter one with another, and other like _particularities_.' We all know what Poet it is, to whose lively and ample descriptions of the affections and passions--to whose _particularities_--that description best applies, and in what age of the world he lived; but no one, who has not first studied them as scientific exhibitions, can begin to perceive the force--the exclusive force--of the reference. 'Amongst the which, this last is of special _use_ in MORAL and CIVIL matters: _how_, I say, to _set affection against affection_, and to master one by another, even as we used to hunt beast with beast, and fly bird with bird, which otherwise, percase, we could not so easily recover.' The Poet has not only exhibited this with very voluminous and lively details, but he, too, has concluded his precept;--