首页 >出版文学> LETTERS>第2章

第2章

  wassurprisedtoseethemaddressthespeakerwithoutrisingfromtheirseats,andthree,four,andfiveatatimewithoutbeingchecked。whenamotionwasmade,thespeakerinsteadofputtingthequestionintheusualform,onlyaskedthegentlemenwhethertheychosethatsuchorsuchathingshouldbedone,andwasansweredbyayessir,ornosir:andtho’thevoicesappearedfrequentlytobedivided,theyneverwouldgotothetroubleofdividingthehouse,buttheclerkenteredtheresolutions,Isupposed,ashethoughtproper。inshorteverythingseemstobecarriedwithoutthehouseingeneral’sknowingwhatwasproposed。thesituationofthisplaceisextremelybeautiful,andverycommodiousfortradehavingamostsecureportcapableofreceivingthelargestvessels,thoseof400
  hh’dsbeingabletobrushagainstthesidesofthedock。thehousesareingeneralbetterthanthoseinWilliamsburgh,butthegardensmoreindifferent。thetwotownsseemmuchofasize。theyhavenopublickbuildingsworthmentioningexceptagovernor’shouse,thehullofwhichafterbeingnearlyfinished,theyhavesufferedtogotoruin。Iwouldgiveyouanaccountoftherejoicingshereontherepealofthestampact,butthisyouwillprobablyseeinprintbeforemylettercanreachyou。IshallproceedtomorrowtoPhiladelphiawhereIshallmakethestaynecessaryforinoculation,thencegoingontoNew-YorkIshallreturnbywatertoWilliamsburgh,aboutthemiddleofJuly,tillwhichtimeyouhavetheprayersofDearPageYouraffectionatefriendP。S。Ishouldbegladifyoucouldinsomeindirectmanner,withoutdiscoveringthatitwasmydesire,letJ。RandolphknowwhenIproposetobeinthecityofWilliamsburgh。
  THESTUDYOFLAW
  _ToThomasTurpin_
  _Shadwell,Feb。5,1769_
  DEARSIR,——Iamtrulyconcernedthatitisnotinmypowertoundertakethesuperintendanceofyoursoninhisstudies;butmysituationbothpresentandfuturerendersitutterlyimpossible。I
  donotexpecttobeheremorethantwomonthsinthewholebetweenthisandNovembernext,atwhichtimeIproposetoremovetoanotherhabitationwhichIamabouttoerect,andonaplansocontractedasthatIshallhavebutonesparebedchamberforwhatevervisitantsI
  mayhave。norhaveIreasontoexpectatanyfuturedaytopassagreaterproportionofmytimeathome。thussituateditwouldevenhavebeeninjusticetoPhilltohaveundertakentogivehimanassistancewhichwillnotbewithinmypower;ataskwhichI
  otherwiseshouldwiththegreatestpleasurehavetakenonme,andwouldhavedesirednohighersatisfactionthantoseehimholdthatrankintheprofessiontowhichhisgeniusandapplicationmustsurelyadvancehim。thesehoweverencouragemetohopethatthepresenceofanassistantwillbelittlenecessary。Ialwayswasofopinionthattheplacingayouthtostudywithanattorneywasratheraprejudicethanahelp。wearealltooaptbyshiftingonthemourbusiness,toincroachonthattimewhichshouldbedevotedtotheirstudies。theonlyhelpayouthwantsistobedirectedwhatbookstoread,andinwhatordertoreadthem。IhaveaccordinglyrecommendedstronglytoPhilltoputhimselfintoapprenticeshipwithnoone,buttoemployhistimeforhimselfalone。toenablehimtodothistoadvantageIhavelaiddownaplanofstudywhichwillaffordhimalltheassistanceatutorcould,withoutsubjectinghimtotheinconvenienceofexpendinghisowntimefortheemolumentofanother。
  onedifficultyonlyoccurs,thatis,thewantofbooks。butthisI
  aminhopesyouwillthinklessofremedyingwhenitisconsideredthathadhebeenplacedunderthecareofanother,apropercollectionofbooksmusthavebeenprovidedforhimbeforeheengagedinthepracticeofhisprofession;foralawyerwithoutbookswouldbelikeaworkmanwithouttools。theonlydifferencethenisthattheymustnowbeprocuredsomethingearlier。shouldyouthinkitnecessary,itwouldbebettertoconsiderthemoneylaidoutinbooksasapartoftheprovisionmadeforhimandtodeductitfromwhatyouintendedtogivehim,thanthatheshouldbewithoutthem。I
  havegivenhimacatalogueofsuchaswillbenecessary,amountinginthewholetoaboutpound100sterling,butdividedintofourinvoices。ShouldPhillenterontheplanofstudyrecommended,I
  shallendeavorasoftenaspossibletotakeyourhouseinonmywaytoandfromWilliamsburghasitwillaffordmethedoublesatisfactionofobservinghisprogressinscienceandofseeingyourself,myaunt,andthefamily。IamDearSirwithgreatrespectYourmosthumbleservantAGENTLEMAN’SLIBRARY
  _ToRobertSkipwithaListofBooks_
  _Monticello,Aug。3,1771_
  Isatdownwithadesignofexecutingyourrequesttoformacatalogueofbookstotheamountofabout50lib。sterl。ButcouldbynomeanssatisfymyselfwithanypartialchoiceIcouldmake。
  ThinkingthereforeitmightbeasagreeabletoyouIhaveframedsuchageneralcollectionasIthinkyouwouldwishandmightintimefindconvenienttoprocure。Outofthisyouwillchuseforyourselftotheamountyoumentionedforthepresentyearandmayhereafterasshallbeconvenientproceedincompletingthewhole。AviewofthesecondcolumninthiscataloguewouldIsupposeextortasmilefromthefaceofgravity。Peacetoitswisdom!Letmenotawakenit。A
  littleattentionhowevertothenatureofthehumanmindevincesthattheentertainmentsoffictionareusefulaswellaspleasant。Thattheyarepleasantwhenwellwritteneverypersonfeelswhoreads。
  Butwhereinisitsutilityasksthereverendsage,bigwiththenotionthatnothingcanbeusefulbutthelearnedlumberofGreekandRomanreadingwithwhichhisheadisstored?
  Ianswer,everythingisusefulwhichcontributestofixintheprinciplesandpracticesofvirtue。Whenanyoriginalactofcharityorofgratitude,forinstance,ispresentedeithertooursightorimagination,wearedeeplyimpressedwithitsbeautyandfeelastrongdesireinourselvesofdoingcharitableandgratefulactsalso。Onthecontrarywhenweseeorreadofanyatrociousdeed,wearedisgustedwithit’sdeformity,andconceiveanabhorenceofvice。
  Noweveryemotionofthiskindisanexerciseofourvirtuousdispositions,anddispositionsofthemind,likelimbsofthebodyacquirestrengthbyexercise。Butexerciseproduceshabit,andintheinstanceofwhichwespeaktheexercisebeingofthemoralfeelingsproducesahabitofthinkingandactingvirtuously。Weneverreflectwhetherthestorywereadbetruthorfiction。Ifthepaintingbelively,andatolerablepictureofnature,wearethrownintoareverie,fromwhichifweawakenitisthefaultofthewriter。IappealtoeveryreaderoffeelingandsentimentwhetherthefictitiousmurtherofDuncanbyMacbethinShakespearedoesnotexciteinhimasgreatahorrorofvillany,astherealoneofHenryIV。byRavaillacasrelatedbyDavila?AndwhetherthefidelityofNelsonandgenerosityofBlandfordinMarmonteldonotdilatehisbreastandelevatehissentimentsasmuchasanysimilarincidentwhichrealhistorycanfurnish?Doeshenotinfactfeelhimselfabettermanwhilereadingthem,andprivatelycovenanttocopythefairexample?WeneitherknownorcarewhetherLawrenceSternereallywenttoFrance,whetherhewasthereaccostedbytheFranciscan,atfirstrebukedhimunkindly,andthengavehimapeaceoffering:orwhetherthewholebenotfiction。Ineithercaseweequallyaresorrowfulattherebuke,andsecretlyresolve_we_willneverdoso:wearepleasedwiththesubsequentatonement,andviewwithemulationasoulcandidlyacknowlegingit’sfaultandmakingajustreparation。Consideringhistoryasamoralexercise,herlessonswouldbetooinfrequentifconfinedtoreallife。Ofthoserecordedbyhistoriansfewincidentshavebeenattendedwithsuchcircumstancesastoexciteinanyhighdegreethissympatheticemotionofvirtue。Wearethereforewiselyframedtobeaswarmlyinterestedforafictitiousasforarealpersonage。Thefieldofimaginationisthuslaidopentoouruseandlessonsmaybeformedtoillustrateandcarryhometothehearteverymoralruleoflife。
  ThusalivelyandlastingsenseoffilialdutyismoreeffectuallyimpressedonthemindofasonordaughterbyreadingKingLear,thanbyallthedryvolumesofethics,anddivinitythateverwerewritten。ThisismyideaofwellwrittenRomance,ofTragedy,ComedyandEpicpoetry——IfyouarefondofspeculationthebooksundertheheadofCriticismwillaffordyoumuchpleasure。OfPoliticsandTradeIhavegivenyouafewonlyofthebestbooks,asyouwouldprobablychusetobenotunacquaintedwiththosecommercialprincipleswhichbringwealthintoourcountry,andtheconstitutionalsecuritywehavefortheenjoimentofthatwealth。InLawImentionafewsystematicalbooks,asaknowledgeoftheminutiaeofthatscienceisnotneces-saryforaprivategentleman。
  InReligion,History,Naturalphilosophy,Ihavefollowedthesameplaningeneral,——Butwhencethenecessityofthiscollection?
  CometothenewRowanty,fromwhichyoumayreachyourhandtoalibraryformedonamoreextensiveplan。Separatedfromeachotherbutafewpacesthepossessionsofeachwouldbeopentotheother。
  Aspringcentricallysituatedmightbethesceneofeveryevening’sjoy。Thereweshouldtalkoverthelessonsoftheday,orlosetheminmusic,chessorthemerrimentsofourfamilycompanions。Theheartthuslightenedourpillowswouldbesoft,andhealthandlonglifewouldattendthehappyscene。ComethenandbringourdearTibbywithyou,thefirstinyouraffections,andsecondinmine。
  Offerprayersformetooatthatshrinetowhichtho’absentIpraycontinualdevotions。Ineveryschemeofhappinesssheisplacedintheforegroundofthepicture,astheprinci-palfigure。Takethataway,anditisnopictureforme。BearmyaffectionstoWintipockclothedinthewarmestexpressionsofsincerity;andtoyourselfbeeveryhumanfelicity。Adieu。
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