Elizabeth-Town gazette. [volume] (Elizabeth-Town, N.J.) 1818-1821, 1818-09-15
MISCELLANY.
From the Coanecticat Courant.
THE BRIEF REMARKER.


ALTHOUGH ignorance and foolishness
Szlare near akin, there is, nevertheless,
material difference between them: the
Former consisting in the destitution of
what is called learning and the latter in
narrowness or weakness of the under
standing.
8 Some ignorant men, or, IN other words,
somt men OF little or no learning, mani
fest strength OF memory. clearness of con-
ception, and souudness of judgment; and
within the narrow compass of their own
observation, their remarks are just, and
sometimes profound. Though not capable
of reasoning exactly according to the rules
of logic, yet they do reason conclusively
land not unfrequently, by a native plain
mess and tlirectness of understanding, they
reach the point the shortest way. In de-
u fiaiice Of bad grammar and uneoutli
phraseoiogy, there is discoverabIe in them
Il mi,se OF inssllectual ore, which, had ii
been properly worked and refined, might
have enriched and adorned society.
81 On the other hand, some learned men
q are foolish after all. When a strong
memory is coupled with a weak under
standing, (Which is union neither inn
4 possible nor quite uncommon, )--in such
Il case, though great deal of learning is
attainabIe, the possessor is not much the
n wiser for IL; and rs to. Tho unfortunate
wights who are constrained to keep him
company, they are rather plagued than
profted by his learning. He is inces-
sanity throwing il in their faces and gorg-
e ing them herewith, even to surfeiting.
Il The garner Of his memory is ample, and
il is full; every thing is there, but nothing
\ in its right place: having no faculty of
discrimination, he more often brings out
out of bis treasury, for use or for show,
the wrong thing than the right. II you
want of him only string of tape, he
measures you off whole yards Of brocade
File must needs pour forth flood Of learn
ing upon every thing, and TO every body !;
and he lectures upon literature and sci
ence, and quotes scrap after scrap from
the ancients, without any regard to time,
or place, or company.
In the course of the last age one Of
this sort, namely, Dr.. George of London,
4 most eminent Greek scholar, who knew
little else but Greek, expressed his Won
der at the fame of Frederick Of Prussia
sc FcI my part" quoth the Doctor, g
cannot regard Frederick as truly great
man, for doubt his being able so much
as to coniugate one of the Greek verbs !"
and the learned Grecian proceeded to
name to the company a particular verb,
which he thought would be more than a
match for his Majesty's head.
This species of pedantry, which was
more prevalent by many degrees, at some
former times than at the present, is keenly
satirized 10 the following lines, Of Winne's
translation of BoiIeau.
/" Brim full of learning see that pedant stride,
s Bristling with horrid Greek, and puff'd with
pride!
&c A thousand authors he in vain has read,
60 And with their maxims stuff'd his empty head
III &c And thinks that without Arstotles rule,
Reason is blind and common sense fool.''
Learned foolishness, is more egregious-
n ly foolish than the folly of ignorance. 1t
is hayward, positive, and imperious; too
conceited and indocile 10 be informed,
q and too obstinate to forsake error. Men
distempered with this kind of fcolishness,
imagine themselves wise overmuch be-
cause they have read great many books
aud can repeat, in more than one Ian
gusge perhaps, what others have said and
written; whereas they are like gormand,
whose digestive faculties bear no proper
ton to the iargeness OF his swallow. They
task and load the memory without exer-
cising the judgment. They lay up in the
memory, facts heaped upon facts, without
l order and without distinction; -and these
are in the memory Only-the nobler pow