4 Aug. 1811 Ch. | | Personalities Vituperative

Fallacies Ch. | Logical High fliers

2

| | Exposition or Exposure

French Philosophers

In these days we had as one to match with any of them

See Barrough Judge - dissent of what plea[...?]

By the little work of Beccaria - though, unless succeeding labours in the same vinyard have been fruitless, much instruction would not now /at present/ be to be reaped from it, the first step /right steps rightly directed/ were made in the truth of penal legislation. He too was of the number of the French Philosophers: he as the last edition of his book shews was invited by them to Paris from his native Italy, and received by the whole fraternity with open arms

If there be any one of them to whom without danger of mistake /error/ the title may be ascribed Montesquieu assured, is he of the number

If in Montesquieu there be wit /ingenuity/ be found predominant over /more [...?]it than/ judgement, if of his three volumes 22 or thereabouts might be omitted /left out/ without less - if partly from prudential /purposed and necessary/ obscurity, partly from want of that patience which is necessary to enable a man pure down the generality /extent/ of wide-extending propositions to that degree which the pale of truth most if not all his propositions notwithstanding the quantity of new and useful truth that night be found of them, are would if taken in the extent given to them by the words employed in the expression of them be found to be false - of among the more particular and less widely extending propositions there be many which being grounded in erroneous views of the subject are false in toto  Go one thus

it is not the less true that at the time of his first appearance, and for a long time we had nothing that could stand in comparison with him from any English hand.