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ESSAY XI.

COF THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE.

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HERE are certain fects, which fecretly form themselves in the learned world, as well as in the political; and though fometimes they come not to an open rupture, yet they give a different turn to the ways of thinking of those who have taken party on either fide. The most remarkable of this kind are the fects, that are founded on the different fentiments with regard to the dignity of human nature; which is a point that seems to have divided philofophers and poets, as well as divines, from the beginning of the world to this day. Some exalt our fpecies to the fkies, and represent man as a kind of human demi-god, who derives his origin from heaven, and retains evident marks of his lineage and defcent. Others infift upon the blind fides of human nature, and can discover nothing, except vanity, in which man furpaffes the other animals, whom he affects fo much to defpife. If an author poffeffes the talent of rhetoric, and declamation, he commonly takes party with the former: If his turn lies towards irony and ridicule, he naturally throws himself into the other ex

treme.

I am far from thinking, that all thofe, who have depreciated human nature have been enemies to virtue, and have exposed

the frailties of their fellow creatures with any bad intention. On the contrary, I am fenfible, that a very delicate sense of morals, especially when attended with somewhat of the Mifanthrope, is apt to give a man a disgust of the world, and to make him confider the common courfe of human affairs with too. much fpleen and indignation, I muft, however, be of opinion, that the fentiments of thofe, who are inclined to think favourably of mankind, are much more advantageous to virtue, than the contrary principles which give us a mean opinion of our nature. When a man is poffeffed of a high notion of his rank and character in the creation, he will naturally endeavour to act up to it, and will fcorn to do a base or vicious action, which might fink him below that figure which he makes in his own imagination. Accordingly we find, that all our polite and fashionable moralifts infift upon this topic, and endeavour to reprefent vice as unworthy of man, as well as odious in itself.

Women are generally much more flattered in their youth than men; which may proceed from this reason, among others, that their chief point of honour is confidered as much more difficult than ours, and requires to be fupported by all that decent pride, which can be inftilled into them.

We find very few difputes which are not founded on fome ambiguity in the expreffion; and I am perfuaded, that the pre- ! fent difpute concerning the dignity of human nature, is not more exempt from it than any other. It may, therefore, be worth while to confider, what is real, and what is only verbal in this controversy.

That there is a natural difference between merit and demerit, virtue and vice, wifdom and folly, no reasonable man will

deny:

deny but yet 'tis evident, that in affixing the term, which denotes either our approbation or blame, we are commonly more influenced by comparison than by any fixt unalterable standard in the nature of things. In like manner, quantity and extention, and bulk, are by every one acknowledged to be real things: But when we call any animal great or little, we always form a fecret comparison between that animal and others of the fame species; and 'tis that comparison which regulates our judgment concerning its greatness. A dog and a horse may be of the very fame fize, while the one is admired for the greatness of its bulk, and the other for the fmallness. When I am prefent, therefore, at any dispute, I always confider with myself, whether it be a question of comparison or not that is the fubject of the controverfy; and if it be, whether the difputants compare the fame objects together, or talk of things that are widely different. As the latter is commonly the cafe, I have long fince learnt to neglect such disputes as manifest abuses of leifure, the most valuable prefent that could be made to

mortals.

In forming our notions of human nature, we are very apt to make a comparison between men and animals which are the only creatures endowed with thought that fall under our senses. Certainly this comparison is very favourable to mankind. On the one hand we see a creature, whofe thoughts are not limited by any narrow bounds, either of place or time; who carries his researches into the most distant regions of this globe, and beyond this globe, to the planets and heavenly bodies; looks backward to consider the first origin, at least, the History of human race; cafts his eyes forward to fee the influence of his

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actions upon pofterity, and the judgments which will be formed of his character a thousand years hence; a creature, who traces caufes and effects to a great length and intricacy; extracts general principles from particular appearances; improves upon his discoveries; corrects his mistakes; and makes his very errors profitable. On the other hand, we are presented with a creature the very reverse of this; limited in its obfervations and reasonings to a very few sensible objects which surround it; without curiosity, without forefight; blindly conducted by instinct, and attaining in a very short time, its utmost perfection, beyond which it is never able to advance a fingle ftep. What a wide difference is here between thefe creatures! And how exalted a notion must we entertain of the former, in comparison of the latter!

There are two means commonly employed to deftroy this conclufion: First, By making an unfair representation of the cafe, and infifting only upon the weakneffes of human nature. And secondly, By forming a new and fecret comparison between man and beings of the most perfect wisdom. Among the other excellencies of man, this is remarkable, that he can form an idea of perfection much beyond what he has experience of in himself; and is not limited in his conception of wisdom and virtue. He can easily exalt his notions and conceive a degree of knowledge, which, when compared to his own, will make the latter appear very contemptible, and will cause the difference between that and the fagacity of animals, in a manner, to difappear and vanish. Now this being a point, in which all the world is agreed, that human understanding falls infinitely short of perfect wisdom; 'tis proper we should know when this comparison takes place, that we may not difpute, where there VOL. I.

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is no real difference in our fentiments. Man falls much more fhort of perfect wisdom, and even of his own ideas of perfect wisdom, than animals do of man; but yet the latter difference: is fo confiderable, that nothing but a comparison with the former, can make it appear of little moment..

'Tis also very ufual to compare one man with another; and finding very few whom we can call wife or virtuous, we are apt to entertain a contemptible notion of our species in general. That we may be sensible of the fallacy of this way of reafoning, we may obferve, that the honourable appellations of wife and virtuous, are not annexed to any particular degree of those qualities of wisdom and virtue; but arise altogether from the comparison we make between one man and another. When we find a man, who arrives at fuch a pitch of wisdom as is very un

common, we pronounce him a wife man: So that to fay, there are few wife men in the world, is really to fay nothing; fince 'tis only by their fcarcity, that they merit that appellation. Were the lowest of our fpecies as wife as TULLY, or my lord BACON, we fhould still have reafon to fay, that there are few wife men. For in that cafe we fhould exalt our notions of wifdom, and should not pay a fingular honour to any one, who was not fingularly diftinguished by his talents. In like manner, I have heard it observed by thoughtless people, that there are few women poffeffed of beauty, in comparison of those who want it; not confidering, that we beftow the epithet of beautiful only on fuch as poffefs a degree of beauty, that is common to them with a few. The fame degree of beauty in a woman is called deformity, which is treated as real beauty in one of our fex.

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