Elements of the philosophy of the human mind. By Dugald Stewart. Rev. and abridged, with critical and explanatory notes, for the use of colleges and schools. By Francis Bowen ...

322 2IEMoRtY
such instances, the ordinary progress of the intellectual powers
is prematurely quickened; but that best of all educations is lost
which nature has prepared both for the philosopher and the man
of the world, amidst the active sports and the hazardous adventtures of childhood. It is from these alone, that we can acquire,
not only that force of character which is suited to the more
ardulous situations of life, but that complete and prompt commland of attention to things external, without which, the highest
elldown-rT-ients of the understanding, however they may fit a man
fIbr the solitary speculations of the closet, are but of little use in
the practice of atfairs, or for enabling him to profit by his personal experience.
Ho1w habits of inattention to details may be corrected. -'Where,
however, such habits of inattention have unfortunately been
contracted, we ought not to despair of them as perfectly incurable. The attention, indeed, as I formerly remarked, can
seldom be forced in particular instances; but we may gradually
learn to place the objects we wish to attend to, in lights more
interesting than those in which we have been accustomed to
view them. Much may be expected from a change of scene,
and a change of pursuits; but above all, much may be expected
fiom foreign travel. The objects which we meet with excite
our surprise by their novelty; and in this manner, we not only
gradually acquire the power of observing and examining them
with attention, but, firom the effects of contrast, the curiosity
comes to be roused with respect to the corresponding objects in
our own country, which, from our early familiarity with them,
we had formerly been accustomed to overlook. In this respect,
the effects of foreign travel, in directing the attention to familiar
objects and occurrences, is somewhat analogous to that which
the study of a dead or of a foreign language produces, in leading the curiosity to examine the grammatical structure of our
Considertable advantage may also be derived, in overcomling
the habits of inattention, which we may have contracted to particular subjects, from studying the systems, true or false, which
philosophers have proposed for explaining or for arranging the