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to me as I have long made it my Rule to hear all & judge only from my own conviction Nullius
addicti judare — As to Mons Romilly in order to introduce you to him & give you some idea of his character,
I should tell you that he is the best Metaphysician here which perhaps you will think indeed no high Eulogium,
at Paris he knew Rousseau well, was well acquainted with Diderot, & has had many conversations with
Helveticus, the next time you get hold of the Encyclopedia turn to the Articles Tolerance & Virtue & you will
there see the only piece of his composition ever printed — Montesquieu I have not yet taken in hand but
having three or four months ago occasion to read his first Chapter I own I could not conceive how a Law
came to be a rapport. Smith on the Wealth of Nations is an Author spoken very highly of here at
present & compared in genius & abilities even to Montesquieu in his own separate Line, as I have
never had occasion to read him I should wish to know what Your sentiments are & how he is esteemed
in London. Ferguson on Civil Society I am reading at odd times he seems very just. —— 298

Court de Gebelins Universal Grammar seems a Capital work in its Kind, the plan is immense
have your ever had leisure or patience to read much of him — if his Hypotheses are yet well founded as they
are daring he bids fair to Eclipse all other past present or future Grammarians. Condillae's Sensations
seems a neat little metaphysical Enquiry, Buffon has a charming Chapter on the same
subject, his style is living magic — Our Genevese Philosopher M. Bonnet has pursued the same idea
with simplicity & still greater exactitude than Condillae, if his Style was not so long-winded
he would be a more agreeable Writer.

I have lately met with one Matter in the course of Reading which seems a Matter of real difficulty — the
solution of it is perhaps what we shall never obtain & indeed I am easy about it as I believe it is a question
with which we have nothing to do - It is however a curious subject of speculation & the endeavour to fathom it may at
least serve to measure the depth of our Reason — I mean the nature of Free Will & Free Agency — Clarke adopts the
principle of a Liberty of Indifference & argues that the Creator may as well have given a primary power to the Soul
to call forth its ideas to contemplate & to suspend its judgement upon them as give Life, Motion c & c — but this seems a little to
suppose effects written causes, why call forth all sorts of motives why stop to survey them unless the mind has some
motive so to do — M. Bonnet on the contrary disallows the preceeding principle; he imagines that the Will me
always be necessarily determined by the ultimum dictamen of the understanding, he imagines that the Will
necessarily obey the more powerful of those Motives which present themselves — he conceives no other Liberty than that of acting according
to the influence of the strongest reasons; from thence he argues, that, as all the ideas which crowd upon the understanding
objects over which man himself has no sort of command, that it is the hazard of circumstances which present to his
mind one set of ideas, & consequently of motives, rather than any other that is the sole cause of his actions —
he argues therefore that all Virtue is good luck & Crime mere misfortune this last seems to me an inevitable
conclusion, it seems also to lead directly to Fatalism &c &c These I believe are the two contrary opinions most
generally received, as far as I comprehend them the first appears defective & the Second I know not how to admit
at any rate it is a curious Metaphysical Enquiry; I think no more about it myself at present & mention it only as
it seemed abstruse when I endeavoured to examine it — if by chance in your own Reading or Reflexion you have
found any thing more satisfactory on the subject I shall be extremely glad to hear your sentiments.

Another matter of a very different sort came into my Mind the other day in turning over the Roman Laws
which I am glad also to mention to you — the Effects of Adoption among the Romans. Their original reasons for
taking up this custom appear to have been partly religious, for the sake of preserving their Sacra Gentilitia their
Name, &c & partly Political as it was an excellent means of forming powerful connections which might be serviceable
in the Elections to the great Dignities of the State — In Its effects it seems to have favoured very much among them the
Equality of Fortunes — A Rich man without Children leaves the whole of his Fortune either to another rich man or divides among
his Agnates & Cognates ad infinitum, the chance would at least be equal here in favor of the Accumulation — by
adopting an Heir the same Rich man adopts another very strong probability of the Division taking place among
the Children of his Heir, the immediate accumulation was certainly prevented & a future dispersion was very probably
ensured. — However ridiculous such translated customs may appear should we in England act so very absurdly
if we introduced this custom of Adoption in our own Country. Ambitious motives one may safely
prophecy would soon bring it into use — Motives of Affection would not be wanting with others & many
would prefer a sort of natural heir of their own Adoption As a sort of distant Relations whom at the same time without some such
more immediate object of their attachment they would name to their succession. — the Effects would be for us the same as they were for
the Romans & in general it must have the same excellent tendency towards levelling the Rate of Fortunes — in our own particular
situation it would perhaps be infinitely more advantageous as I believe it is much more usual for the Rich in
England to heap up fortune upon fortune, with a view to Titles Borough Interest &c &c still more beneficial on
another account as the Enormous E. India fortunes flow in so fast upon us & crush the old Country Families


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Identifier: | JB/538/298/001
"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 538.

Date_1

1779-02-12

Marginal Summary Numbering

Box

538

Main Headings

Folio number

298

Info in main headings field

Image

001

Titles

Category

Correspondence

Number of Pages

Recto/Verso

Page Numbering

Penner

Charles Abbot

Watermarks

Marginals

Paper Producer

Corrections

Paper Produced in Year

Notes public

ID Number

Box Contents

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