And yet I was studying in one of the most celebrated schools in Europe,
in which I thought there must be learned men, if such were anywhere to
be found. I had been taught all that others learned there; and not
contented with the sciences actually taught us, I had, in addition, read
all the books that had fallen into my hands, treating of such branches
as are esteemed the most curious and rare. I knew the judgment which
others had formed of me; and I did not find that I was considered
inferior to my fellows, although there were among them some who were
already marked out to fill the places of our instructors. And, in fine,
our age appeared to me as flourishing, and as fertile in powerful minds
as any preceding one. I was thus led to take the liberty of judging of
all other men by myself, and of concluding that there was no science in
existence that was of such
a nature as I had previously been given to believe.
I still continued, however, to hold in esteem the studies of the
schools. I was aware that the languages taught in them are necessary to
the understanding of the writings of the ancients; that the grace of
fable stirs the mind; that the memorable deeds of history elevate it;
and, if read with discretion, aid in forming the judgment; that the
perusal of all excellent books is, as it were, to interview with the
noblest men of past ages, who have written them, and even a studied
interview, in which are discovered to us only their choicest thoughts;
that eloquence has incomparable force and beauty; that poesy has
its ravishing graces and delights; that in the mathematics there are
many refined discoveries eminently suited to gratify the inquisitive, as
well as further all the arts an lessen the labour of man; that numerous
highly useful precepts and exhortations to virtue are contained in
treatises on morals; that theology points out the path to heaven; that
philosophy affords the means of discoursing with an appearance of truth
on all matters, and commands the admiration of the more simple; that
jurisprudence, medicine, and the other sciences, secure for their
cultivators honors and riches; and, in fine, that it is useful to bestow
some attention upon all, even upon those abounding the most in
superstition and error, that we may be in a position to determine their
real value, and guard against being deceived.
But I believed that I had already given sufficient time to languages,
and likewise to the reading of the writings of the ancients, to their
histories and fables. For to hold converse with those of other ages and
to travel, are almost the same thing. It is useful to know something of
the manners of different nations, that we may be enabled to form a more
correct judgment regarding our own, and be prevented from thinking that
everything contrary to our customs is ridiculous and irrational, a
conclusion usually come to by those whose experience has been limited to
their own country. On the other hand, when too much time is occupied in
traveling, we become strangers to our native country; and the over
curious in the customs of the past are generally ignorant of those of
the present. Besides, fictitious narratives lead us to imagine the
possibility of many events that are impossible; and even the most
faithful histories, if they do not wholly misrepresent matters, or
exaggerate their importance to render the account of them more worthy of
perusal, omit, at least, almost always the meanest and least striking of
the attendant circumstances; hence it happens that the remainder does
not represent the truth, and that such as regulate their conduct by
examples drawn from this source, are apt to fall into the extravagances
of the knight-errants of romance, and to entertain projects that exceed
their powers.
