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Article WISDOM AND FOLLY: A VISION. ← Page 2 of 7 →
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Wisdom And Folly: A Vision.
dig with much more patience , through dirty rubt . ish , for the precious metals , than the Wise . The Wise are , indeed , much more sharpsighted at discovering the best places for digging , as at discovering every thing else ; but the Dull are the diggers . The Wise form the projects , the Dull get the gold . Dull-Land is also blessed with an excellent breed of beasts of burdenand particularlfamous for those
; y very useful animals , Asses . My guide now touched my eyesAvitha salve , which instantaneously enabled them to see to an infinitely greater distance than they could have done before through the finest telescope , and , as I afterwards found , to see through the fog . Surveying the mountainous country , noAV that my eyes were
cleared and strengthened , I perceived that , like Etna , it rose gradually , biit for a much greater space . I observed that it was divided into different regions or compartments , increasing in the two dissimilar qualities of steepness ancl fruitfulness , as the ascent rose . One phenomenon struck me , which ivas , that it was indented by a number of dens , which participated of the fog that overspread the valley below . ' These , ' said my guide , ' are dangerous passages , - through Avhich inhabitants even of the higher regions of Wisdom
often either insensibly glide , or rapidly plunge into the valley below—an easy descent , but a difficult recovery . Many , however , of the subjects of Wisdom , who have occasionally visited her Stultan Majesty , or even sojourned some time at her court , do , by their innate and habitual vigour , regain the regions of Wisdom . ' . - What is the qualification required , ' said I , 'to become a subject of Wisdom ?' 'Seeing , ' answered my guide ' and pursuing- the most useful and
, pleasant ends , and applying the most adequate means . The qualification of a subject of Folly is habitually either to pursue useless tnds , or to apply inadequate means . 'Turn your eyes to the right of the country you have been contemplating , and tell me what you discover . ' ' I see , ' said I , ' another mountain almost as high , and more steep , than Wise-Land .
Heavens , what a grand and beautiful prospect ! what AA'oods and lawns , and streams ! what deli ghtful verdure I The top appears to be sublime , the middle exquisitely beautiful ; but the lower part is grotesque , and seems to lose itself in the confines of Frivolity . ' ' That , ' said my guide , 'is Mount Fancy . Here are the A'ineyarcis and flower-gardens of Wise-Land . Observe their eminences , which so join Mount Fancy ancl Wise-Land , that it is difficult to say to which they belong . These are called the districts of Wit and
Humour . ' Strai ght down from W it and Humour , but at a great distance , is the region of Quibbles and Puns ; thither the Dull resort when they get frisk y , for the Dull are very fond of jokes , but can mount no higher than to the parts just mentioned . Formerly tbe Wise used very often to visit Pun-Land ; but now generally keep to the upper regions of Wit and Humour , and leave the lower parts as a playground to the honest Dull , knowing that thev can go no where else .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Wisdom And Folly: A Vision.
dig with much more patience , through dirty rubt . ish , for the precious metals , than the Wise . The Wise are , indeed , much more sharpsighted at discovering the best places for digging , as at discovering every thing else ; but the Dull are the diggers . The Wise form the projects , the Dull get the gold . Dull-Land is also blessed with an excellent breed of beasts of burdenand particularlfamous for those
; y very useful animals , Asses . My guide now touched my eyesAvitha salve , which instantaneously enabled them to see to an infinitely greater distance than they could have done before through the finest telescope , and , as I afterwards found , to see through the fog . Surveying the mountainous country , noAV that my eyes were
cleared and strengthened , I perceived that , like Etna , it rose gradually , biit for a much greater space . I observed that it was divided into different regions or compartments , increasing in the two dissimilar qualities of steepness ancl fruitfulness , as the ascent rose . One phenomenon struck me , which ivas , that it was indented by a number of dens , which participated of the fog that overspread the valley below . ' These , ' said my guide , ' are dangerous passages , - through Avhich inhabitants even of the higher regions of Wisdom
often either insensibly glide , or rapidly plunge into the valley below—an easy descent , but a difficult recovery . Many , however , of the subjects of Wisdom , who have occasionally visited her Stultan Majesty , or even sojourned some time at her court , do , by their innate and habitual vigour , regain the regions of Wisdom . ' . - What is the qualification required , ' said I , 'to become a subject of Wisdom ?' 'Seeing , ' answered my guide ' and pursuing- the most useful and
, pleasant ends , and applying the most adequate means . The qualification of a subject of Folly is habitually either to pursue useless tnds , or to apply inadequate means . 'Turn your eyes to the right of the country you have been contemplating , and tell me what you discover . ' ' I see , ' said I , ' another mountain almost as high , and more steep , than Wise-Land .
Heavens , what a grand and beautiful prospect ! what AA'oods and lawns , and streams ! what deli ghtful verdure I The top appears to be sublime , the middle exquisitely beautiful ; but the lower part is grotesque , and seems to lose itself in the confines of Frivolity . ' ' That , ' said my guide , 'is Mount Fancy . Here are the A'ineyarcis and flower-gardens of Wise-Land . Observe their eminences , which so join Mount Fancy ancl Wise-Land , that it is difficult to say to which they belong . These are called the districts of Wit and
Humour . ' Strai ght down from W it and Humour , but at a great distance , is the region of Quibbles and Puns ; thither the Dull resort when they get frisk y , for the Dull are very fond of jokes , but can mount no higher than to the parts just mentioned . Formerly tbe Wise used very often to visit Pun-Land ; but now generally keep to the upper regions of Wit and Humour , and leave the lower parts as a playground to the honest Dull , knowing that thev can go no where else .