into his Study, we shall quickly discover, by how many plausible Degrees, the wisest Men are apt to deceive themselves into sudden Confidence of the Certainty of their Knowledge. We will suppose him to begin his Inquiry with all the Sincerity imaginable: resolving to pass by no small Mistake, and to forgive to himself no slight Error in the Account; with these fair Purposes, he pitches on some particular Subject; this he turns and tortures every way, till, after much Labour, he can make some Guesses at its Causes: upon this his Industry increases; he applies the same Matter to several other Operations; he still finds the Effects answer his Expectations: Now he begins to mould some general Proposition upon it; he meets with more and more Proofs to confirm his Judgment: thus he grows, by little and little, warmer in his Imaginations; the Delight of his Success swells him; he triumphs and applauds himself for having found out some important Truth: But now his Trial begins to slacken; now Impatience and Security creep upon him; now he carelesly admits whole Crowds of Testimonies, that seem any way to confirm that Opinion, which he had before establish'd; now he stops his Survey, which ought to have gone forward to many more Particulars; and so at last this sincere, this invincible Observer, out of Weariness, or Presumption, becomes the most negligent in the latter part of his Work, in which he ought to have been the most exact. Such is the universal Inclination of Mankind, to be misled by themselves; which I have mention'd, not to beat down the Credit of any particular Philosophers, whose Superstructures have not been answerable to the Strength of their first Assertions; but I have only complain'd of it in general, as we use to do of Man's Mortality, and be-
