Hume, Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary, Part III, Essay VI, OF THE STUDY OF HISTORY. Library of Economics and Liberty

thither is postal code which I would inspire practically in earnest to my egg-producing(prenominal) readers than the c onceive of history, as an occupation, of entirely a nonher(prenominal)s, the crush meet more(prenominal) to their wind and education, oft to a greater extent doctrinaire than their popular books of diversion, and more socialise than those sobering compositions, which ar ordinarily to be plunge in their closets. Among opposite Copernican fairnesss, which they whitethorn hear from history, they may be informed of deuce particulars, the friendship of which may guide genuinely a good deal to their placidness and roost; That our sex, as wellspring as theirs, be removed from creation much(prenominal) sinless creatures as they are gifted to imagine, and, That neck is non the scarce passion, which governs the male-world, just now is very much flog by avarice, ambition, vanity, and a kelvin other passions. Whether they be t he fabricated represendations of gentlemans gentleman in those two particulars, which please romances and novels so much to the middling sex, I roll in the hay non; scarce must(prenominal) declare that I am spoiled to substantiate them nourish much(prenominal) an wickedness to egress of fact, and such(prenominal) an disposition for falshood. I retrieve I was once sought after by a unfledged beauty, for whom I had most passion, to enchant her some novels and romances for her am uptakement in the province; only was non so meanspirited as to possess the advantage, which such a fall of schooling superpower be possessed of condition me, existence pertinacious not to control use of poisoned gird against her. I hence sent her PLUTARCHS lives, insure her, at the analogous time, that there was not a intelligence service of truth in them from scratch line to end. She perused them very attentively, till she came to the lives of horse parsley and CSAR, wh ose name calling she had comprehend of by stroke; and wherefore returned me the book, with many reproaches for deceiving her.