charge, that a little tradesman can do no
good, it is not true; I must tell you that I belong to the Sick
Man's Friend, and to the Society for relieving prisoners for small
debts.

_Fantom._ I have no attention to spare for that business, though I
would pledge myself to produce a plan by which the _national_ debt
might be paid off in six months; but all yours are petty
occupations.

_Trueman._ Then they are better suited to petty men of petty
fortune. I had rather have an ounce of real good done with my own
hands, and seen with my own eyes, than speculate about doing a ton
in a wild way, which I know can never be brought about.

_Fantom._ I despise a narrow field. Oh, for the reign of universal
benevolence! I want to make all mankind good and happy.

_Trueman._ Dear me! sure that must be a wholesale sort of a job; had
you not better try your hand at a town or a parish first!

_Fantom._ Sir, I have a plan in my head for relieving the miseries
of the whole world. Every thing is bad as it now stands. I would
alter all the laws; and do away all the religions, and put an end to
all the wars in the world. I would every where redress the injustice
of fortune, or what the vulgar call Providence. I would put an end
to all punishments; I would not leave a single prisoner on the face
of the globe. This is what I call doing things on a grand scale. "A
scale with a vengeance," said Trueman. "As to releasing the
prisoners, however, I do not so much like that, as it would be
liberating a few rogues at the expense of all honest men; but as to
the rest of your plans, if all Christian countries would be so good
as to turn Christians, it might be helped on a good deal. There
would be still misery enough left indeed; because God intended this
world should be earth and not heaven. But, sir, among all your
oblations, you must abolish human corruption before you can make the
world quite as perfect as you pretend. You philosophers seem to me
to be ignorant of the very first seed and principle of misery--sin,
sir, sin: your system of reform is radically defective; for it does
not comprehend that sinful nature from which all misery proceeds.
You accuse government of defects which belong to man, to individual
man, and of course to man collectively. Among all your reforms you
must reform the human heart; you are only hacking at the branches,
without striking at the root. Banishing impiety out of the world,
would be like striking off all the