A _Genius_, in order to be
much improv'd, should be well workt, and kept in close
Application to its proper Pursuit.
All the Foreign Help must be procured, that can be had, towards
this Improvement. The Instruction and Example of such as excell
in that particular way, to which a Man's Mind is turned, is of
vast Use. A good Master in the Mechanical Arts, and careful
Observation of the nicest and most dextrous Workmen, will help a
_Genius_ of this sort. A good Tutor in the Sciences, and free
Conversation with such as have made great Proficiency in them,
must vastly improve the more liberal _Genius_. Reading, and
careful Reflection on what a Man reads, will still add to its
Force, and carry the Improvement higher. Reading furnishes
Matter, Reflexion digests it, and makes it our own; as the Flesh
and Blood which are made out of the Food we eat. And Prudence and
the Knowledge of the World, must direct us how to employ our
_Genius_, and on all occasions make the best Use of it. What
will the most exalted _Genius_ signify, if the World reaps no
Advantage from it? He who is possess'd of it, may make it turn to
Account to himself, and have much Pleasure and Satisfaction from
it; but it is a very poor Business, if it serves no other
Purpose, than to supply Matter for such private and narrow
Satisfaction. It is certainly the Intention of Providence, that a
good _Genius_ should be a publick Benefit; and to wrap up such a
Talent in a Napkin, and bury it in the Earth, is at once to be
unfaithful to God, and defraud Mankind.
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