The third college should be devoted to Philosophy in all its three kinds, each of which forms a preparation for a particular profession--Natural Philosophy for Medicine, Political Philosophy for Law, and Moral Philosophy for Divinity. But in this distribution some will ask, “Where do Logic and Rhetoric come in?” I would ask in reply, “What is the place of Grammar?” It is the preparative to language. In the same way, Logic on the side of demonstration takes the part of Grammar for the Mathematical Sciences and Natural Philosophy, and in its consideration of probabilities fills the same place for Moral and Political Philosophy. Rhetoric helps the writer to attain purity of style without emotion, and the speaker to use persuasion with an appeal to the feelings, though sometimes, indeed, the latter deals only in argument, while the former may wax hot over his writing. As to the proper order of these studies, we are accustomed to set young students to Moral and Political Philosophy first, but we should rather follow Aristotle in placing Natural Philosophy next to the Mathematical Sciences, because it is more intelligible for young heads on account of its deductive reasoning, whereas Moral and Political Philosophy, being subject to particular circumstances in life, should be reserved for riper years.
The three professions above mentioned--Medicine, Law, and Divinity--should each be endowed with its particular College and livings, instead of having its students scattered. To have the physician thus learned is not too much to ask, considering that his proficiency depends on his knowledge, and with him ignorance is simply butchery. As for Law, if the whole study were reduced into one body, would our country have any cause to complain? Would she not rather have great reason to be very glad? We have now three several professions in Law, as if we were a three-headed State, one English and French, another Roman Imperial, and the third Roman Ecclesiastical, whereas English alone were simply best. The distraction of temporal, civil, and canon law is in many ways very injurious to our country. There can be no question that it is good for the divine to have time to study the sciences that are the handmaids to his profession.