BOOK I PART III
the one, sometimes the other prevails, accord-
ing to the disposition and character of the per-
son. The vulgar are commonly guided by the
first, and wise men by the second. Mean while
the sceptics may here have the pleasure of ob-
serving a new and signal contradiction in our
reason, and of seeing all philosophy ready to
be subverted by a principle of human nature,
and again saved by a new direction of the very
same principle. The following of general rules
is a very unphilosophical species of probabil-
ity; and yet it is only by following them that
we can correct this, and all other unphilosoph-
ical probabilities.
Since we have instances, where general rules
operate on the imagination even contrary to
the judgment, we need not be surprized to
see their effects encrease, when conjoined with