Page:An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding - Hume (1748).djvu/18

 quire no deep Application or Recess to be comprehended, and send back the Student among Mankind fall of noble Sentiments and wise Precepts, applicable to every Emergence of human Life. By means of such Compositions, Virtue becomes amiable, Science agreeable, Company instructive, and Retirement entertaining.

is a reasonable Being; and as such, receives from Science his proper Food and Nourishment: But so narrow are the Bounds of human Understanding, that little Satisfaction can be hop'd for, in this Particular, either from the Extent or Security of his Acquisitions. Man is a sociable, no less than a reasonanable Being: But neither can he always enjoy Company agreeable and amusing, or preserve the proper Relish of them. Man is also an active Being; and from that Disposition, as well as from the various Necessities of human Life, must submit to Business and Occupation: But the Mind requires some Relaxation, and cannot always support its Bent to Care and Industry. It seems, then, that Nature has pointed out a mixt kind of Life as most suitable to human Race, and secretly admonish'd them to allow none of these Byasses to draw too much, so as to incapacitate them for other Occupations and Entertainments. Indulge your Passion for Science, says she; but let your Science be human, and such as may have a direct Reference to