Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Man is especially distinguished from the lower animals by the consciousness of a Supreme Ruler of the world, and by the dominion he is enabled to exercise over the earth and its productions. He is distinguished also by the restless and insatiable desire of knowledge, the capacity to attain it, and the power to perpetuate it from one generation to another. But, notwithstanding so wide a barrier separates him from the brute, yet the national and intellectual varieties among mankind are so great as, on a superficial view, almost to constitute specific distinctions; and to establish as near an affinity, in point of intelligence, between the lowest of these and the most sagacious brute, as between the most enlightened and ignorant of the human family. As one man differs so widely from another, we may also distinguish the wise man from the simple by the consistency of his conduct, and by the use he is accustomed to make of his acquired knowledge. Now, the departments of human knowledge are various like the motives which actuate different persons in the pursuit. Some individuals have a natural inclination to one subject of inquiry, and some to another. Some seek after knowledge for gain ; some for estimation in the world ; some from a restless and unprofitable spirit of curiosity without limit, and almost without object; some that they may become expert in disputation ; some from pride and ostentation ; few, as is well observed by Lord Bacon, that they may employ the gift of reason for the benefit of the human family, and for the glory of Him who gave it. ' As if," adds the same illustrious author, in that strong and figurative language for which his writings are so remarkable, adapting his metaphor to the different motives and characters of men—" as if the...