INTRODUCTION.

CHAPTER FIRST.

UTILITY OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY.

§. 1. Objects of this science and objections against it.

MAN is not a simple, but a combined or complex existence, made up of mind and matter. It belongs to mental Philosophy.to make inquiries into his mental part, into that characteristic element in his formation, which thinks and combines, which feels and wills, hates and loves. And as mind is higher than matter, a less gross and more excellent existence, it might be supposed, that the study of it would be pursued with the greatest alacrity and delight.

Nor has this supposition been altogether disappointed; the study of the intellect and of the passions has never, in any stage of society, been wholly neglected; and yet some objections have been made to this pursuit, which, although more specious than solid, have lessened the ardour, to which it is entitled.

§. 2. Its supposed practical inutility.

Among other objections, not sufficiently weighty to exact an examination at present, it has sometimes been said, and with some degree of plausibility, that Mental Philoso

phy is practically useless.-In studying this department of science, we are supposed in the erroneous opinion, which has been mentioned, to learn in a scientific form only what we have previously learnt from nature; we acquire nothing new, and the time, therefore, which is occupied in this pursuit, is misspent.

All persons, however ignorant, know what it is, to think, to imagine, to feel, to perceive, to exercise belief.. All persons know the fact, without being formally taught it, that memory depends on attention. When asked, why they have forgotten things, which occurred yesterday or last week in their presence, they think it a sufficient answer to say, that they did not attend to them. All classes of men are practically acquainted with the great principle of association. The uneducated groom, who feeds his horses to the sound of the drum and bugle, as a preparatory training for military service, discovers a knowledge of it not less than the philosopher. The vast multitude, with scarcely a single exception, understand the complexity and strength of the passions; the power, and the aids, and the practice of reasoning.

From some facts of this kind, which may safely be admitted to exist to a certain extent, the opinion has arisen of the practical inutility of studying Mental Philosophy as

a science.

§. 3. Its supposed practical inutility answered.

If, however, such facts as these be admitted to be a valid objection in application to this study, the same objection evidently exists to the study of other sciences, for instance, Natural Philosophy. It is remarked of savages, that they gain an eminence before they throw their missile weapons, in order by the aid of such a position to increase the momentum of what is thrown. They do this without any scientific knowledge of the accelerating force of gravity. The sailor, who has perhaps never seen a mathematical diagram, practically understands, as is evident from the mode in which he handles the ropes of the vessel, the composition and resolution of forces. In a multitude of in

stances, we act on principles, which are explained and demonstrated in some of the branches of Natural Philosophy. We act on them, while we are altogether ignorant of the science. But no one, it is presumed, will consider this a good excuse for making no philosophical and systematic inquiries into that department of knowledge.

But without contenting ourselves with the answer, which has now been given to the objection, that the study, upon which we are entering, is of no practical profit, some remarks will be made, more directly and positively showing its beneficial results.

§. 4. Mental Philosophy tends to gratify a reasonable' curiosity.

If it were true, that the practical good results of a prosecution of this science are exceedingly inconsiderable, it might, nevertheless, be properly studied, because a natural and reasonable curiosity is in this way gratified. The botanist examines the seed of a plant and its mode of germination, the root and the qualities by which it is fitted to act as an organ of nutrition and support, the structure of the stem, and the form of the leaves. The mineralogist inquires into the properties, the constituent parts, and the relations of the various mineral masses, which enter into the formation of the earth's surface. And whatever opinion may exist as to the amount of practical benefit resulting from inquiries into these departments of science, they are justly considered as exceedingly commendable, and as suitable to the inquisitive turn of an intellectual being. In other words, the constitution of the mind itself, which in its very nature is restless and inquisitive, is regarded as a pledge of the propriety of such inquiries, independently of their subserviency to the indirect increase of human happiness.

But it is certainly not too much to say, that the soul of man presents a nobler subject of examination, than the inanimate masses of matter beneath his feet, or the flowers, that open and bloom around him. In whatever points . we may hereafter compare them, we shall have frequent occasion to observe, that spirit possesses the preeminence

over that, which is immaterial. Matter and mind are utterly different in their nature: although in making the remark here, we anticipate the views, by which it is authorized. Our experience teaches us, that the former is compounded and separable into parts; but we know the latter to be simple and inseparable. Being inseparable, it is not subject to the change of dissolution, but continues unaltered in its nature amid the rapid decays of material existence. And what is a further mark of its superior claims on our attention, the mind is subject to a law of increase; it is not stationary, but is always advancing, always strengthening its susceptibilities of knowledge.

§. 5. Further grounds for this view. ·

The remark last made is worthy of particular consideration. Look at man in the beginning of his existence. The thoughts and feelings of the infant mind are few indeed, but it is able, in the creative expansion of its powers, to multiply them both in their simple and complex forms, to an immeasurable extent.-In various ways does this appear; in every thing, which admits of the application of mind; in the arts, sciences, and social order.

Writers say, that man is born in society, and it is true, that he is so. But what is his situation in the introductory period of his life! If he be an object of love, he is also an object of solicitude and pity; he is utterly under the direction of another, unable at first to guide his own footsteps. But in a few years, such has been the growth of his intellect, that he, who but yesterday could not govern himself, tomorrow enacts the constitution and laws of empires; he, who but yesterday knew no social principle but that of simple dependence on his mother, tomorrow comprehends the philosophy of Montesquieu, and has become the guide and legislator of the world.

Nor is this growth of mind, this wonderful expansion of the intellect limited to any one class of objects to the exclusion of others.-Mark the childhood of man in his earliest inquiries into nature. At first he is filled with astonishment at beholding the clustering beams of light,that