After we had finished our repast, various subjects of speculation were
again introduced and discussed, greatly to my amusement. Wigurd displayed
his usual ingenuity and ardour, and baffled all his antagonists by his
vehemence and fluency. He had two great principles by which he tested the
good or evil of every thing; and there were few questions in which he could
not avail himself of one or the other. These were, general _utility_
and _truth_.
By a skilful use of these weapons of controversy, he could attack or defend
with equal success. If any custom or institution which he had denounced,
was justified by his adversaries, on the ground of its expediency, he
immediately retorted on them its repugnancy to sincerity, truth, and
unsophisticated nature; and if they, at any time, resorted to a similar
justification for our natural feelings and propensities, he triumphantly
showed that they were inimical to the public good. Thus, he condemned
gratitude as a sentiment calculated to weaken the sense of justice, and to
substitute feeling for reason. He, on the other hand, proscribed the little
forms and courtesies, which are either founded in convenience, or give a
grace and sweetness to social intercourse, as a direct violation of honest
nature, and therefore odious and mean. He thus was able to silence every
opponent. I was very desirous of hearing the Brahmin's opinion; but, while
he evidently was not convinced by our host's language, he declined engaging
in any controversy.
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