Besidethecomfortofknowledge，everyscienceisauxiliarytoeveryother。Whileyouareattendingthesecoursesyoucanproceedbyyourselfinaregularseriesofhistoricalreading。Itwouldbeawasteoftimetoattendaprofessorofthis。Itistobeacquiredfrombooksandifyoupursueitbyyourselfyoucanaccommodateittoyourotherreadingsoastofillupthosechasmsoftimenototherwiseappropriated。Thereareportionsofthedaytoowhenthemindshouldbeeased，particularlyafterdinneritshouldbeappliedtolighteroccupation：historyisofthiskind。Itexercisesprincipallythememory。Reflectionalsoindeedisnecessarybutnotgenerallyinalaboriousdegree。Toconductyourselfinthisbranchofscienceyouhaveonlytoconsiderwhataerasofitmeritagrasp&
　　whataparticularattention，&ineachaeraalsotodistinguishbetweenthecountriestheknowledgeofwhosehistorywillbeuseful&
　　thosewhereitsufficesonlytobenotaltogetherignorant。Havinglaiddownyourplanastothebranchesofhistoryyouwouldpursue，theorderoftimewillbeyoursufficientguide。AfterwhatyouhavereadinantienthistoryIshouldsupposeMillot’sdigestwouldbeuseful&sufficient。ThehistoriesofGreeceandRomeareworthyagooddegreeofattention，theyshouldbereadintheoriginalauthors。ThetransitionfromantienttomodernhistorywillbebesteffectedbyreadingGibbon’s。ThenageneralhistoryoftheprincipalstatesofEurope，butparticularonesofEngland。Heretootheoriginalwritersaretobepreferred。Kennetpublishedaconsiderablecollectionofthesein3vols。folio，buttherearesomeothersnotinhiscollectionwellworthbeingread。AfterthehistoryofEnglandthatofAmericawillclaimyourattention。Heretoooriginalauthors¬compilersarebest。Anauthorwhowritesofhisowntimesoroftimesnearhisownpresentsinhisownideas&
　　mannerthebestpictureofthemomentofwhichhewrites。Historyneednotbehurriedbutmaygivewaytotheothersciencesbecausehistorycanbepursuedafteryoushallhaveleftyourpresentsituationaswellaswhileyouremaininit。Whenyoushallhavegotthrothissecondorderofpreparationthestudyofthelawistobebegun。Thislikehistoryistobeacquiredfrombooks。Alltheaidyouwillwantwillbeacatalogueofthebookstoberead&theorderinwhichtheyaretoberead。ItbeingabsolutelyindifferentinwhatplaceyoucarryonthisreadingIshouldproposeyourdoingitinFrance。TheadvantagesofthiswillbethatyouwillatthesametimeacquirethehabitofspeakingFrenchwhichistheobjectofayearortwo。Youmaybegivingattentiontosuchofthefineartsasyourturnmayleadyouto&youwillbeforminganacquaintancewiththeindividuals&charactersofanationwithwhomwemustlongremainintheclosestintimacy&towhomweareboundbythestrongtiesofgratitudeandpolicy。Anationinshortofthemostamiabledispositionsonearth，thewholemassofwhichispenetratedwithanaffectionforus。YoumightbeforeyoureturntoyourowncountrymakeavisittoItalyalso。
　　IshouldhaveperformedtheofficeofbuthalfafriendwereI
　　toconfinemyselftotheimprovementofthemindonly。Knowledgeindeedisadesirable，alovelypossession，butIdonotscrupletosaythathealthismoreso。Itisoflittleconsequencetostorethemindwithscienceifthebodybepermittedtobecomedebilitated。Ifthebodybefeeble，themindwillnotbestrong——thesovereigninvigoratorofthebodyisexercise，andofallexerciseswalkingisbest。Ahorsegivesbutakindofhalfexercise，andacarriageisnobetterthanacradle。Nooneknows，tillhetries，howeasilyahabitofwalkingisacquired。Apersonwhoneverwalkedthreemileswillinthecourseofamonthbecomeabletowalk15or20withoutfatigue。Ihaveknownsomegreatwalkers&hadparticularaccountsofmanymore：andIneverkneworheardofonewhowasnothealthy&
　　longlived。Thisspeciesofexercisethereforeismuchtobeadvised。Shouldyoubedisposedtotryit，asyourhealthhasbeenfeeble，itwillbenecessaryforyoutobeginwithalittle，&toincreaseitbydegrees。Forthesamereasonyoumustprobablyatfirstascribetoitthehoursmostpreciousforstudy，Imeanthoseaboutthemiddleoftheday。Butwhenyoushallfindyourselfstrongyoumayventuretotakeyourwalksintheeveningafterthedigestionofthedinnerisprettywellover。Thisismakingacompromisebetweenhealth&study。Thelatterwouldbetoomuchinterruptedwereyoutotakefromittheearlyhoursofthedayandhabitwillsoonrendertheevening’sexerciseassalutaryasthatofthemorning。Ispeakthisfrommyownexperiencehaving，fromanattachmenttostudy，veryearlyinlife，madethisarrangementofmytime，havingeverobservedit，&stillobservingit，&alwayswithperfectsuccess。Notlessthantwohoursadayshouldbedevotedtoexercise，andtheweathershouldbelittleregarded。Apersonnotsickwillnotbeinjuredbygettingwet。Itisbuttakingacoldbathwhichnevergivesacoldtoanyone。Bruteanimalsarethemosthealthy，&theyareexposedtoallweatherand，ofmen，thosearehealthiestwhoarethemostexposed。Therecipeofthosetwodescriptionsofbeingsissimplediet，exerciseandtheopenair，beit’sstatewhatitwill；andwemayventuretosaythatthisrecipewillgivehealth&vigortoeveryotherdescription——BythistimeIamsureyouwillthinkIhavesermonizedenough。Ihavegivenyouindeedalengthylecture。Ihavebeenledthroughitbymyzealtoserveyou；ifinthewholeyoufindoneusefulcounsel，thatwillbemyreward，&asufficientone。Fewpersonsinyourowncountryhavestartedfromasadvantageousgroundasthatwhereonyouwillbeplaced。Natureandfortunehavebeenliberaltoyou。Everythinghonourableorprofitablethereisplacedwithinyourownreach，andwilldependonyourownefforts。Iftheseareexertedwithassiduity，andguidedbyunswervinghonesty，yoursuccessisinfallible：andthatitmaybeasgreatasyouwishisthesinceredesireofDearSir，yourmostaffectionatehumbleservant。
　　P。S。Besogoodastopresentmeaffectionatelytoyourbrother&cousin。
　　ARCHAEOLOGY，LEDYARD，ANEWINVENTION
　　_ToEzraStiles_
　　_Paris，Sep。1，1786_
　　SIR，——IamhonouredwithyourletterofMay8。Thatwhichyoumentiontohavewritteninthewinterprecedingnevercametohand。IreturnyoumythanksforthecommunicationsrelativetotheWesterncountry。WhenwereflecthowlongwehaveinhabitedthosepartsofAmericawhichliebetweentheAlleghaney&theocean，thatnomonumenthaseverbeenfoundinthemwhichindicatedtheuseofironamongits’aboriginalinhabitants，thattheywereasfaradvancedinarts，atleast，astheinhabitantsontheothersidetheAlleghaney，agooddegreeofinfidelitymaybeexcusedastothenewdiscoverieswhichsupposeregularfortificationsofbrickworktohavebeeninuseamongtheIndiansonthewatersoftheOhio。
　　Intrenchmentsofearththeymightindeedmake：butbrickismoredifficult。Theartofmakingitmayhaveprecededtheuseofiron，butitwouldsupposeagreaterdegreeofindustrythanmeninthehunterstateusuallypossess。IshouldliketoknowwhetherGeneralParsonshimselfsawactualbricksamongtheremainsoffortification。
　　Isupposethesettlementofourcontinentisofthemostremoteantiquity。Thesimilitudebetweenits’inhabitants&thoseofEasternpartsofAsiarendersitprobablethatoursaredescendedfromthemortheyfromours。Thelatterismyopinion，foundedonthissinglefact。AmongtheredinhabitantsofAsiatherearebutafewlanguagesradicallydifferent，butamongourIndiansthenumberoflanguagesisinfinitewhicharesoradicallydifferentastoexhibitatpresentnoappearanceoftheirhavingbeenderivedfromacommonsource。Thetimenecessaryforthegenerationofsomanylanguagesmustbeimmense。Acountrymanofyours，aMr。Lediard，whowaswithCapt。Cookonhislastvoiage，proposeseithertogotoKamschatka，crossfromthencetotheWesternsideofAmerica，andpenetratethroughtheContinenttooursideofit，ortogotoKentucke，&thencepenetrateWestwardlytotheSouthsea，theventfromhencelatelytoLondon，whereifhefindsapassagetoKamschatkaortheWesterncoastofAmericahewouldavailhimselfofit：otherwiseheproposestoreturntooursideofAmericatoattemptthatroute。Ithinkhimwellcalculatedforsuchanenterprise，&
　　wishhemayundertakeit。AnothercountrymanofyoursMr。Trumbulhaspaidusavisithere&broughtwithhimtwopictureswhicharetheadmirationoftheConnoisseurs。Hisnaturaltalentsforthisartseemalmostunparalleled。Isendyouthe5th&6thvols。ofthe_Bibliothequephysicoecconomie_erroneouslyletteredasthe7th&
　　8th，whicharenotyetcomeout。Iinclosewiththemthearticle”EtatsUnis”ofthenewEncyclopedie。Thisarticleisrecentlypublished，&afewcopieshavebeenprintedseparate。Forthistwelvemonthpastlittlenew&excellenthasappearedeitherinliteratureorthearts。AnAbbeRochonhasappliedthemetalcalledplatinatothetelescopeinsteadofthemixedmetalofwhichthespeculawereformerlycomposed。Itisinsusceptibleofrust，asgoldis，andhethinksit’sreflectivepowerequaltothatofthemixedmetal。Hehasobservedaverycuriouseffectofthenaturalchrystals，&especiallyofthoseofIceland；whichisthatlensesmadeofthemhavetwodistinctfocuses，andpresentyoutheobjectdistinctlyattwodifferentdistances。ThisIhaveseenmyself。A
　　newmethodofcopyinghasbeeninventedhere。Icalledontheinventor，&hepresentedmeaplateofcopper，apen&ink。Iwroteanoteontheplate，andinaboutthreequartersofanhourhebroughtmeanhundredcopies，asperfectastheimaginationcanconceive。HadIwrittenmyname，hecouldhaveputittosomanybonds，sothatIshouldhaveacknolegedtheSignaturetobemyown。
　　ThecopyingofpaintingsinEnglandisveryconceivable。Anynumbermaybetaken，whichshallgiveyouthetruelineaments&colouringoftheoriginalwithoutinjuringthat。Thisissolikecreation，thathadInotseenit，Ishouldhavedoubtedit——ThedeathoftheK。
　　ofPrussia，whichhappenedonthe17thinst。willprobablyemploythepens，ifnottheswordsofpoliticians。Wehadexchangedtheratificationsofourtreatywithhim。Thearticlesofthiswhichwereintendedtopreventormiticatewars，bylesseningtheiralimentaresomuchapplaudedinEuropethatIthinktheexamplewillbefollowed。Ihavethehonourtobewithverysincereesteem，DearSir，yourmostobedt。humbleservant。”DIALOGUEBETWEENMYHEAD&MYHEART”
　　_ToMariaCosway_
　　_Paris，October12，1786_
　　MYDEARMADAM，——HavingperformedthelastsadofficeofhandingyouintoyourcarriageatthepavillondeSt。Denis，andseenthewheelsgetactuallyintomotion，Iturnedonmyheel&walked，moredeadthanalive，totheoppositedoor，wheremyownwasawaitingme。Mr。Danquervillewasmissing。Hewassoughtfor，found，&
　　draggeddownstairs。Wewerecrammedintothecarriage，likerecruitsfortheBastille，¬havingsoulenoughtogiveorderstothecoachman，hepresumedParisourdestination，&droveoff。Afteraconsiderableinterval，silencewasbrokewitha_”Jesuisvraimentaffligedudepartdecesbonsgens。”_Thiswasasignalforamutualconfessionofdistress。WebeganimmediatelytotalkofMr。&Mrs。
　　Cosway，oftheirgoodness，theirtalents，theiramiability；&thowespokeofnothingelse，weseemedhardlytohaveenteredintomatterwhenthecoachmanannouncedtherueSt。Denis，&thatwewereoppositeMr。Danquerville’s。Heinsistedondescendingthere&
　　traversingashortpassagetohislodgings。Iwascarriedhome。
　　Seatedbymyfireside，solitary&sad，thefollowingdialoguetookplacebetweenmyHead&myHeart：
　　_Head。_Well，friend，youseemtobeinaprettytrim。
　　_Heart。_Iamindeedthemostwretchedofallearthlybeings。
　　Overwhelmedwithgrief，everyfibreofmyframedistendedbeyonditsnaturalpowerstobear，Iwouldwillinglymeetwhatevercatastropheshouldleavemenomoretofeelortofear。
　　_Head。_Thesearetheeternalconsequencesofyourwarmth&
　　precipitation。Thisisoneofthescrapesintowhichyouareeverleadingus。Youconfessyourfolliesindeed；butstillyouhug&
　　cherishthem；&noreformationcanbehoped，wherethereisnorepentance。
　　_Heart。_Oh，myfriend！thisisnomomenttoupbraidmyfoibles。Iamrentintofragmentsbytheforceofmygrief！Ifyouhaveanybalm，pouritintomywounds；ifnone，donotharrowthembynewtorments。Sparemeinthisawfulmoment！AtanyotherIwillattendwithpatiencetoyouradmonitions。
　　_Head。_OnthecontraryIneverfoundthatthemomentoftriumphwithyouwasthemomentofattentiontomyadmonitions。
　　Whilesufferingunderyourfollies，youmayperhapsbemadesensibleofthem，but，theparoxysmover，youfancyitcanneverreturn。
　　Harshthereforeasthemedicinemaybe，itismyofficetoadministerit。YouwillbepleasedtorememberthatwhenourfriendTrumbullusedtobetellingusofthemerits&talentsofthesegoodpeople，I
　　neverceasedwhisperingtoyouthatwehadnooccasionfornewacquaintance；thatthegreatertheirmerits&talents，themoredangeroustheirfriendshiptoourtranquillity，becausetheregretatpartingwouldbegreater。