to be combined and
varied as occasion may require; seeking only to know and combine
excellence, wherever it is to be found, into one idea of perfection; and
employing the most subtle disquisition to discriminate perfections that
are incompatible with each other. The habitual dignity which long
converse with the _greatest minds_ has imparted to him, will display
itself in all his attempts, and he will stand among his instructors, not
as an imitator, but a rival. The more extensive your acquaintance is
with the works of those who have excelled, the more extensive will be
your powers of invention; and, what will appear still more like a
paradox, the more original will be your conceptions.'

Again:--'By the devotion with which many study a particular master, they
acquire a habit of thinking the same way; therefore, let his faults
always be your best instructors.'

The firm, correct and determined pencil of many of the Dutch masters,
cannot be too strongly recommended for imitation. I speak of the
mechanism of painting: the expression, force and energy they gave to
their works, from the decision of touch and handling, which enabled them
to give that look of nature and freshness of reality to their studies,
that forms so great an excellence in their performances. The study of
Ostade, Teniers, and many others of that school, cannot fail to enrich
our own works with variety of invention, and 'those who have not looked
out for themselves in this manner from time to time, have not only
ceased to advance and improve, but have invariably gone backward, from
being left without resources;' and having gathered nothing, have nothing
to work upon--from an inability to infuse into their own works what they
have neglected to learn from the contemplation of the works of others.
It places you under the guidance of your own judgment and discretion by
comparison with the best efforts of others; it enables you 'to
criticise, compare, and rank their works in your own estimation, as they
approach to, or recede from, the standard of perfection which you have
formed in your own mind--but which those masters themselves have taught
you to make, and which you will cease to make with correctness when you
cease to study them. It is their excellencies which have taught you
their defects, and you will, henceforth, be your own teacher.' Be
cautious against the 'imaginary powers of native genius, and sufficiency
in yourself, which seldom fails to produce