his first task, his most
important duty, was to reclaim me from the errors of popery. The
intermixture of sects has rendered the Swiss clergy acute and learned
on the topics of controversy; and I have some of his letters in which he
celebrates the dexterity of his attack, and my gradual concessions after
a firm and well-managed defence. I was willing, and I am now willing,
to allow him a handsome share of the honour of my conversion: yet I must
observe, that it was principally effected by my private reflections;
and I still remember my solitary transport at the discovery of a
philosophical argument against the doctrine of transubstantiation: that
the text of scripture, which seems to inculcate the real presence, is
attested only by a single sense--our sight; while the real presence
itself is disproved by three of our senses--the sight, the touch, and
the taste. The various articles of the Romish creed disappeared like a
dream; and after a full conviction, on Christmas-day, 1754, I received
the sacrament in the church of Lausanne. It was here that I suspended my
religious inquiries, acquiescing with implicit belief in the tenets and
mysteries, which are adopted by the general consent of catholics and
protestants.

Such, from my arrival at Lausanne, during the first eighteen or twenty
months (July 1753--March 1755), were my useful studies, the foundation
of all my future improvements. But every man who rises above the common
level has received two educations: the first from his teachers; the
second, more personal and important, from himself. He will not, like
the fanatics of the last age, define the moment of grace; but he cannot
forget the aera of his life, in which his mind has expanded to its
proper form and dimensions. My worthy tutor had the good sense and
modesty to discern how far he could be useful: as soon as he felt that
I advanced beyond his speed and measure, he wisely left me to my genius;
and the hours of lesson were soon lost in the voluntary labour of the
whole morning, and sometimes of the whole day. The desire of prolonging
my time, gradually confirmed the salutary habit of early rising, to
which I have always adhered, with some regard to seasons and situations;
but it is happy for my eyes and my health, that my temperate ardour has
never been seduced to trespass on the hours of the night. During the
last three years of my residence at Lausanne, I may assume the merit of
serious and solid application; b