has an amount of paid-up capital, and that on the death or retirement of any of its partners their portion of the capital is not withdrawn, but is transferred to other parties; and hence we infer that it is a safer system of banking for the public than if the partners were no more than six, and the death or retirement of any partner would cause the withdrawal of his portion of the capital. So from the attributes of the precious metals, it was inferred that they were adapted for the purposes of coin. "That medium of exchange must be best which unites in itself the largest amount of the following qualities:—sameness of value both as to time and place, divisibility, durability, and facility of transportation. The metals-especially gold and silver-possess all these qualities in a great degree. We may have them in tons or in grains: wear is slow; fire will not destroy them; when divided, they can be fused again and re-blended; and, except where large values are concerned, they are easily conveyed from place to place. Because metals possess these qualities, they were early and (in civilized countries) universally adopted as a medium of exchange "-Rev. S. Martin's Lecture on Money. 8. The presence of similar attributes in two or more subjects shows the probability of their corresponding in other attributes. This is called "reasoning by analogy," which we shall discuss more at length hereafter. We will here give only one example. "It is natural to mankind to judge of things less known by some similitude, real or imaginary, between them and things more familiar or better known. And where the things compared have really a great similitude in their nature, when there is reason to think that they are subject to the same laws, there may be a considerable degree of probability in conclusions drawn from analogy. Thus we may observe a very great similitude between this earth which we inhabit, and the other planets, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. They all revolve round the sun, as the earth does, although at different distances and in different periods. They borrow all their light from the sun, as the earth does. Several of them are known to revolve round their axis, like the earth; and by that means must have a like succession of day and night. Some of them have moons that serve to give them light in the absence of the sun, as our moon does to us. They are all in their motions subject to the same law of gravitation as the earth is. From all this similitude, it is not unreasonable to think that those planets may, like our earth, be the habitation of various orders of living creatures." 9. The presence of any attribute shows the absence of a contrary attribute. This, of course, refers only to accidental attributes, for an essential attribute cannot be absent from its subject. Thus, if the weather be hot, it is not cold; if a man be humble, he is not proud; if avaricious, he is not liberal; if he have the gout, he is not in good health. The presence of an accidental attribute in one instance, proves the possibility of such a subject becoming united to such an attribute in any similar case. Wisdom is the accidental attribute of a man, and therefore we are justified in inferring that a man may become wise. In the same way, wealth, learning, virtue, happiness, are attributes of man, and though not essential attributes, but only accidental, yet they may all be acquired. Sometimes, as we have observed at page 31, an accidental attribute may be united to a subject, and form a new subject, which may have other attributes. Thus we may say-A wise man will receive instruction. Here the word "wise " is not viewed as an attribute, but as with "man" forming a subject, and a readiness to receive instruction is an essential attribute of a wise man. In reasoning upon the relation subsisting between subject and attribute, it is always necessary to distinguish between those attributes which are essential, and those which are accidental. For, if we take accidental attributes, and argue upon them as though they were essential, our reasonings will be erroneous. Thus, the poet Ovid had a large nose. This was a mere accidental circumstance, and was by no means essential to him as a poet. If, therefore, we were to meet a man in the street with a large nose, we should not be justified in inferring that he was a poet. Some men of great minds have had feeble bodies, but it does not follow that a feeble body tends to invigorate the mind. Some men of great intellectual powers have been addicted to great vices, but it does not follow that great vices are a mark of intellect. Erroneous reasonings under this head sometimes arise from our omission to take into account some one or more of the essential attributes. A tradesman may have all the attributes of a good man of business, except that he is fond of speculation. A young woman may have all the attributes of a good wife, except sweetness of temper. A house may have all the attributes of an agreeable residence, except that the chimney smokes. A man may have all the attributes of an excellent friend, except that he cannot keep a secret. Now, in these cases, if you had, from a review of the other attributes, come to the conclusion, "That tradesman is worthy of high credit;" ;""That young woman would make an excellent wife;" "That house is a most agreeable residence ;""That man is a most judicious friend," you would have formed erroneous conclusions. We read of several of the kings of Judah, who "walked in the ways of David their father," "but the high places were not taken away," ," "but the people still sacrificed in high places," and hence, as an old divine observes, we often find that some unlucky “but” or other comes in and spoils all. It may also happen, that when we have noticed all the attributes, our judgment may be kept in suspense from the conflicting character of these attributes. If we have to hire servants, those who are most skilled may be deficient in sobriety, or, if not deficient in sobriety, they may be deficient in industry, or in cleanliness. If we want a house, we cannot find one that has all the attributes we require. If we wish to emigrate, we can discover no colony exactly suited to our circumstances. In these cases we must balance the attributes one against the other. Here, a full knowledge of the subject, and plenty of common sense, are the best guides. The rules of logic, however, will teach us to decide coolly and systematically. The best way is that of Dr. Franklin. Write down on paper first, all the reasons for the affirmative, and then all the reasons for the negative. Having all the reasons thus before your eyes, weigh them deliberately, and see which preponderate. Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee, And let all thy ways be established.—Prov. iv. 25, 26. SECTION II. THE RELATION OF A WHOLE AND ITS PARTS. You must observe that some ideas have no parts. Such are many attributes. The colours green, red, blue, have no parts; nor have the tastes sweet, sour, bitter, &c.; nor the sounds, loud, sharp, shrill, &c.; nor the various smells. The things that have parts are subjects having attributes. Such are all animals, all vegetables, all material objects, and all particles of matter, and all mechanical instruments, of every kind. An animal may be divided into head, trunk, and limbs. A tree may be divided into root, trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit. A steam-engine may be divided into the several parts of which it is composed. A day may be divided into hours. A book may be divided into parts, or chapters, and those parts or chapters may be subdivided into sections or verses. An art or science may be divided into parts. Political economy may be divided into production, distribution, interchange, and consumption. The business of a manufactory may be divided into its various operations. A cotton manufacture may be divided into the departments of spinning, weaving, dyeing, and printing. A pound sterling may be divided into shillings, and each shilling into pence. A bushel may be divided into gallons, and each gallon into quarts and pints. A mile may be divided into furlongs, and each furlong into yards. A ton weight may be divided into hundreds, and these into pounds and ounces. A palace may be divided into apartments. A house may be divided into rooms. A farm may be divided into acres. Upon this subject we shall quote Dr. Watts : : "Each part singly taken must contain less than the whole, but all the parts taken collectively (or together) must contain neither more nor less than the whole. Therefore, if in discoursing of a tree you divide it into the trunk and leaves, it is an imperfect division, because the root and the branches are needful to make up the whole." "In all divisions we should first consider the larger and more immediate parts of the subject, and not divide it at once into the more minute and remote parts. It would by no means be proper to divide a kingdom first into streets, and lanes, and fields; but it must be first divided into provinces or counties, then those counties may be divided into towns, villages, fields, &c.; and towns into streets and lanes. "The several parts of a division ought to be opposite, that is, one part ought not to contain another. It would be a ridiculous division of an animal into head, limbs, body, and brains, for the brains are contained in the head." : "Let not subdivisions be too numerous without necessity for it is better many times to distinguish more parts at once, if the subject will bear it, than to mince the discourse by excessive dividing and subdividing. It is preferable therefore in a treatise of geography, to say, that in a city we will consider its walls, its gates, its buildings, its streets, and lanes, than to divide it formally first into the encompassing and the encompassed parts; the encompassing parts are the walls and gates; the encompassed parts include the ways and the buildings; the ways are the streets and the lanes; buildings consist of the foundations, and the superstructure, &c. "Divide every subject according to the special design you have in view. One and the same idea or subject may be divided in very different manners, according to the different purposes we have in discoursing of it. So if a printer were to consider the several parts of a book, he must divide it into sheets, the sheets into pages, the pages into lines, and the lines into letters. But a grammarian divides a book into periods, sentences, and words, or parts of speech, as noun, pronoun, verb, &c. A logician considers a book as divided into chapters, sections, arguments, propositions, ideas; and, with the help of ontology, he divides the propositions into subject, object, property, relation, action, passion, cause, effect, &c. But it would be very ridiculous for a logician to divide a book into sheets, pages, and lines; or for a printer to divide it into nouns and pronouns, or into propositions, ideas, properties, or causes. In all your divisions observe with greatest exactness the nature of things." We shall consider the relation between a whole and its parts, with reference to arithmetical numbers, physical objects, and moral ideas. 1. With regard to arithmetical numbers. Any arithmetical number may be divided into as many parts as it contains units; and again, a unit may be divided into any number of fractional parts. It is obvious, that |