to see whether they are really as bad as moralists have pronounced
them! They come near the verge of the precipice just to look off. They
want to see how far it really is down, but they lose their balance
while they look, and fall into remediless ruin; or, catching
themselves, clamber up, bleeding and ghastly, on the rock, gibbering
with curses or groaning ineffectual prayer. By all means encourage
healthful inquisitiveness, by all means discourage ill regulated
curiosity.