4978. MANKIND, Improvement of.—[further continued].
That every man shall be
made virtuous, by any process whatever, is,
indeed, no more to be expected, than that
every tree shall be made to bear fruit, and
every plant nourishment. The brier and
bramble can never become the vine and olive;
but their asperities may be softened by culture,
and their properties improved to usefulness
in the order and economy of the
world. And I do hope that, in the present
spirit of extending to the great mass of mankind
the blessings of instruction, I see a prospect
of great advancement in the happiness of
the human race; and that this may proceed
to an indefinite, although not to an infinite
degree.—
To C. C. Blatchly. Washington ed. vii, 263.
(M.
1822)
