第27章

_ToMariaCosway_

_Paris，July1，1787_

Youconclude，Madam，frommylongsilencethatIamgonetotheotherworld。Nothingelsewouldhavepreventedmywritingtoyousolong。Ihavenotthoughtofyoutheless，butItookapeeponlyintoElysium。Ientereditatonedoor，&cameoutatanother，havingseen，asIpast，onlyTurin，Milan，&Genoa。IcalculatedthehoursitwouldhavetakentocarrymeontoRome，buttheywereexactlysomanymorethanIhadtospare。Wasnotthisprovoking?

InthirtyhoursfromMilanIcouldhavebeenattheespousalsoftheDogeandtheAdriatic，butIamborntoloseeverythingIlove。Whywereyounotwithme?Somanyenchantingsceneswhichonlywantedyourpenciltoconsecratethemtofame。WheneveryougotoItalyyoumustpassattheColdeTende。YoumaygoinyourchariotinfulltrotfromNicetoTurin，asiftherewerenomountain。Buthaveyourpallet&pencilready：foryouwillbesuretostopinthepassage，atthechateaudeSaorgio。Imaginetoyourself，madam，acastle&

villagehangingtoacloudinfront，ononehandamountaincloventhroughtoletpassagurglingstream；ontheotherariver，overwhichisthrownamagnificentbridge；thewholeformedintoabason，it’ssidesshaggedwithrocks，olivetrees，vines，herds，&c。I

insistonyourpaintingit。Howdoyoudo?Howhaveyoudone?andwhenareyoucominghere?Ifnotatall，whatdidyouevercomefor?

Onlytomakepeoplemiserableatlosingyou。ConsiderthatyouarebutadayfromParis。IfyoucomebythewayofSt。Omers，whichisbuttwopostsfurther，youwillseeanew&beautifulcountry。Comethen，mydearMadam，andwewillbreakfasteveryday_aAngloise_，hieawaytotheDesert，dineunderthebowersofMarly，andforgetthatweareevertopartagain。Ireceived，inthemomentofmydepartureyourfavorofFeb。15。andlongtoreceiveanother：butlengthy，warm，&flowingfromtheheart，asdothesentimentsoffriendship&esteemwithwhichIhavethehonortobe，dearMadam，youraffectionatefriendandservant。”THEHOMAGEOFREASON”

_ToPeterCarr_

_Paris，Aug。10，1787_

DEARPETER，——IhavereceivedyourtwolettersofDecemb。30

andApril18，andamveryhappytofindbythem，aswellasbylettersfromMr。Wythe，thatyouhavebeensofortunateastoattracthisnotice&goodwill；Iamsureyouwillfindthistohavebeenoneofthemostfortunateeventsofyourlife，asIhaveeverbeensensibleitwasofmine。IincloseyouasketchofthesciencestowhichIwouldwishyoutoapplyinsuchorderasMr。Wytheshalladvise；Imentionalsothebooksinthemworthyourreading，whichsubmittohiscorrection。Manyoftheseareamongyourfather’sbooks，whichyoushouldhavebroughttoyou。AsIdonotrecollectthoseofthemnotinhislibrary，youmustwritetomeforthem，makingoutacatalogueofsuchasyouthinkyoushallhaveoccasionforin18monthsfromthedateofyourletter，&consultingMr。Wytheonthesubject。TothissketchIwilladdafewparticularobservations。

1。Italian。IfearthelearningthislanguagewillconfoundyourFrenchandSpanish。BeingallofthemdegenerateddialectsoftheLatin，theyareapttomixinconversation。Ihaveneverseenapersonspeakingthethreelanguageswhodidnotmixthem。Itisadelightfullanguage，butlateeventshavingrenderedtheSpanishmoreuseful，layitasidetoprosecutethat。

2。Spanish。Bestowgreatattentiononthis，&endeavortoacquireanaccurateknowlegeofit。OurfutureconnectionswithSpain&SpanishAmericawillrenderthatlanguageavaluableacquisition。TheantienthistoryofagreatpartofAmerica，too，iswritteninthatlanguage。Isendyouadictionary。

3。Moralphilosophy。Ithinkitlosttimetoattendlecturesinthisbranch。Hewhomadeuswouldhavebeenapitifulbunglerifhehadmadetherulesofourmoralconductamatterofscience。Foronemanofscience，therearethousandswhoarenot。Whatwouldhavebecomeofthem?Manwasdestinedforsociety。Hismoralitythereforewastobeformedtothisobject。Hewasendowedwithasenseofright&wrongmerelyrelativetothis。Thissenseisasmuchapartofhisnatureasthesenseofhearing，seeing，feeling；

itisthetruefoundationofmorality，¬the{tokalon}，truth，&c。asfancifulwritershaveimagined。Themoralsense，orconscience，isasmuchapartofmanashislegorarm。Itisgiventoallhumanbeingsinastrongerorweakerdegree，asforceofmembersisgiventheminagreaterorlessdegree。Itmaybestrengthenedbyexercise，asmayanyparticularlimbofthebody。

Thissenseissubmittedindeedinsomedegreetotheguidanceofreason；butitisasmallstockwhichisrequiredforthis：evenalessonethanwhatwecallcommonsense。Stateamoralcasetoaploughman&aprofessor。Theformerwilldecideitaswell，&oftenbetterthanthelatter，becausehehasnotbeenledastraybyartificialr