80 SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER 
his researches in it with all the ardour which the 
purest love of knowledge could inspire—his ad- 
miration of nature, and his reverence for its Al- 
mighty author, increasing with the extent of his 
acquirements. ‘The object he had thus selected, 
and others akin to it, he followed with an un- 
swerving attachment. He felt it was the walk in 
which he was fitted to excel, and he was satisfied 
with his choice. He never forsook it to court 
temporary distinction by a weak compliance with 
the varying temper of popular taste ; and, despis- 
ing the affectation of universal knowledge, never 
offered his opinion but on topics which he had 
well considered and thoroughly understood. In 
the various situations to which he successively 
rempved, we find him keeping the same objects 
constantly in view, only studying them under new 
aspects and in more extended relations. Hence, 
his whole life was calm and self-consistent. A 
continuity of thought and purpose pervaded it 
from beginning to end. In the wider specula- 
tions which engaged the concluding years of his 
life, we trace the natural development of the 
tastes and studies which had taken deep root in 
his mind from the commencement of manhood. 
To this healthful growth and expansion of his 
intellectual powers—the purity and simplicity of 
