8 Aug. 1815

Jug True or Jug Util Sub Rev or Church

History?

Moduus tractandi

(5) (3)

By the operation of these causes it is—by these artifices and coupled [with] the illusion of which they have been productive—or by these illusions coupled with the artifices of which they have been productive—by these causes it is that of every incident—of every event—of every state of things which these histories or any part of any of them offer to view the idea traced in the mind is traced in so distorted a shape—in such false colours—that, instead of a portion of the surface of this our earth distinguished from our own by no other difference than those topographical ones which are produced by difference of longitude, latitude, elevation of surface, temperature and geological formation, inhabited at the time in question by rational beings of the same shape, structure and constitution, outward and inward bodily and mental[ly] as ourselves, the land of Judea with its appurtenances, ennobled and spiritualized for this purpose by the state and title of The Holy Land is presented thence forward to the infant mind and thence forward to the same mind in all its stages under the appearances of a province of Faery Land. At this present time, by no other differences than those produced by the topographical circumstances above mentioned added to the moral differences of government manners and education are the inhabitants of this province of Faery Land distinguished in our eyes from our fellowcountrymen any more than the inhabitants of any other part of the earth’s surface. Take this same territory and of the time occupied by the population of it take a portion of the quantity of a century or thereabouts situate at the distance of about such centuries from the tract of time occupied by ourselves, for the whole of this portion of time, the population of this country which since that time has had except as above nothing to distinguish it from the population of our own or any other country, becomes distorted in every feature: the picture of it is to any serious picture drawn of any part of the population of our own country stationed in our own time, what a caricature-sketch of the members of a Board a Council or a House of Parliament is to a serious picture exhibiting the portraits of the same distinguished individuals.

2.

Familiar incident not supposed to be familiarly expressed.