12 PREFACE. 



But this, is not all ; with an unkind and ungenerous insin- 

 uation in his preface, calculated to injure Dr. Harris, if not 

 designed to prevent the circulation of Ids work, and of course, 

 a comparison of the two, which might prove unpleasant to 

 Mr. Carpenter, he announces to the world, that the ' utter des- 

 titution of evangelical sentiment in the volume,' from which 

 he had gathered and gleaned, more than from all other works 

 together, ' renders it unfit for general use.' 



To despoil an author of the results of his literary labors, who 

 with indefatigable zeal, and distinguished ability and success 

 has been serving the cause of Science and Biblical Literature 

 with his time, his talents, his labors and his money, for more 

 than a quarter of a century, and then to brand him as a here- 

 tic, in order to conceal the robbery, does not appear to us as 

 evincing much of the spirit or practice of piety. 



Would that Mr. Carpenter, with all that he has borrowed 

 from the work of Dr. Harris, had taken, also, a note append- 

 ed to its ingenuous and unassuming preface : 



' Est benignum, et plenum ingenui pudoris, fateri per quos 

 profiteris.' Plin. Nat. Hist. Pref. 



Justice at least should have been given to one who so early 

 and ably led the way, in the study of the * Natural History of 

 the Bible.' 



It argues little in favor of the purity or liberality of our 

 principles, if we have no eye to discover nor heart to acknow- 

 ledge the high Literary, Critical and Scientific merit of anoth- 

 er, because, forsooth, his Theological opinions may be different 

 from our own. 



The circulation of Dr. Harris's work in Europe for many 

 years (it having passe J three editions in London) is a testi- 

 mony to its value, not easily set aside. And we cannot but 

 hope, that he will favor the literary world, with another edi- 

 tion of his invaluable volume, with such additions and improve- 

 ments as the lapse of a dozen years will have enabled him to 

 make. And we are sure that Literary and Scientific men of 

 every country, who alone are able to appreciate these labors, 

 will award to him, the full measure of thanks, which he de- 

 Serves. There is perhaps no living writer who has devoted 

 so much attention to this particular subject, or has such a 

 mass of materials at command. 



Perhaps some may think, that the writer of this preface is 

 a friend, or acquaintance of Dr. H., writing under his eye 

 and perhaps at his suggestion, and therefore affects to feel so 



