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Hon:d Sir
It gives me great satisfaction to find that the small
specimen which you have as yet seen of what I have in hand,
has met with your approbation: that being the case, one great end
of it is answer'd. Having occasion to say something to the
Public on the subject of that abstruseness of which you take notice,
& which I see, must from the causes which you mention to a certain degree remain after
all my efforts to clear it away, I will not anticipate any
thing on that behalf at present — In the mean time, excuse
the liberty I take in supposing that with regard to some
parts that abstruseness may possibly appear greater to you in
common with others of your former profession, than with to men
at large, as, besides having a new language to acquire, you
have the old one to unlearn. As to myself, if I had waited till
I had been immersed in the depths of practice, I am satisfied
I should never have had ability, even if I had had inclination,
to engage in the design.
The great point is, to conciliate the suffrages of the Masters
of the Science, of those who, as the French expression is,
give the "ton": which is not to be done; in an eminent degree,
but by eliciting such Truths, as shall be both new &
interesting, not only to others but to them. For such Truths
one must often dive deep; they are not to be gather'd on the surface.
Others I believe there will not be wanting, which may find
easier access to popular apprehension, by touching upon some
string of the affections: and these may help draw in the rest
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Identifier: | JB/537/242/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 537.
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1772-10-14 |
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537 |
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242 |
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001 |
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Correspondence |
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Jeremy Bentham |
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