Of the Study of History .

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another scene, where virtue and vice are toooíten confounded, and what belongs to one isafcribed to the other,

Besides the advantage of beginning our acquaint-ance with malikind sooner, and of bringing’withus into the world, and the business of it, fuch acast of thought and fuch a temper of mind, as willenable us to make a better use of our expérience ;there is this further advantage in the study ofhistory, that the improvement we make by itextends to more objects, and is made at theexpeníe of other men : vvhereas that improvement,which is the eífect of our own expérience, isconfined to fewtr objects, and is made atour ownexpense. To state the account fairly thc-reforebetween these two improvements; thoughthe latterbe the’more valuable, yet allowance being madeon one side for the much gréa ter number ofexamplés that history présents to us, and déductionbeing made on the other of the price vve oftenpay for our expérience, the value of the formerwiìl rise in proportion. u I hâve recorded these“ things,” says Polybius , aster giving an accountof the defeat of Regulus, “ that they who read“ these commentaries may be rendered better bya them ; for ail men hâve two w ays of improve-ment, one arising from their own expérience,“ and one from the expérience of others. i vi-Cl dentior quidem illa est, quae per propria ducit“ infortunia j at tuticr illa, quae per aliéna.” I nieCasaubon’s translation. Poiybîus gots on. andconclu des, c< that since the sirst ct the-íe u avs

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