PREFACE

Summary

It is an incongruous thing, when there is any want of conformity between the subject matter of an essay, and its title. The object of this explanatory preface is to shew that it is an incongruity into which we have not fallen.

In the first place we were not in fair circumstances for expounding the adaptation of external nature to the mental constitution of man, till we had made manifest in some degree what that constitution is. There is no distinct labourer in that conjunct demonstration of the divine attributes which is now being offered to the world, to whom this essentially preliminary topic had been assigned as the subject of a separate work. It was therefore unavoidable, that, to a certain extent we should undertake it ourselves, else, in proceeding to the construction of our argument, we might have incurred the charge of attempting to rear a superstructure, without a foundation to rest upon.

But in the execution of this introductory part of our subject, we could scarcely have refrained from noticing the indications of divine wisdom and goodness in our mental constitution itself, even though our strictly proper, because our assigned task, was to point out these indications in the adaptation of this constitution to external nature. We could not forget that the general purpose of the work was to exhibit with all possible fulness the argument for the character of the Deity, as grounded on the laws and appearances of nature.