134 MR. BUCKLE'S FALLACIES. [ix. 



as we shall see, discover any universal law, like 

 Spencer. Yet, in the boldness and comprehensive- 

 ness of his views, and in the fearless candour with 

 which they are stated in the wealth of his erudition, 

 and in the honesty with which he applies his facts 

 in the noble love of liberty which pervades his work, 

 and in the eloquence which invests all parts of it with 

 an undying charm, he has had few equals in any age. 

 Feeling that it is but just to pronounce our opinion at 

 the outset, we say this with the more readiness, both 

 because in the course of this criticism we shall be 

 compelled to differ from him on many points of vital 

 importance, and especially because Mr. Buckle's work 

 has been received with a bitter and contemptuous 

 hostility on the part of many reviewers, which can- 

 not have failed to excite much groundless prejudice 

 against the author and his doctrines. Not only is it 

 that the merits of the work have been lost sight of, 

 while its defects have been exaggerated to an enor- 

 mous extent ; J not only is it that its tendencies have 

 been perversely misrepresented, and that it has been 

 accused of aiming to subvert the principles of moral- 

 ity and religion ; but it is that some of the most 

 obvious facts upon which its arguments are based have 



1 [I had reference to the absurd article in the Quarterly Review, July, 

 1857.] 



