Xlii INTRODUCTION. 



1 pebbles ' gathered from the shores of the great ocean of truth, 

 what are the mysteries still hidden in the bosom of tie mighty un- 

 explored ? And how far transcending all stretch of thought that 

 Unknown and Infinite Cause of all to which the human spirit turns 

 evermore in solemn and mysterious worship ! 



It remains only to observe, that so immense a step in the pro- 

 gress of our knowledge of natural agencies as the following pages 

 disclose, cannot be without effect upon the intellectual culture 

 of the age. To the adherents of that scholastic and verbal edu- 

 cation which prefers words to things, and ancient to modern 

 thought ; which ignores the study of nature, and regards the pro- 

 gress of science with indifference or hostility, it matters little what 

 views of the world are entertained, or what changes these views 

 may undergo. But there is another, and happily an increasing class, 

 who hold that it is the true destiny of mind to comprehend the 

 vast order of existence in the midst of which it is placed, and that 

 the faculties of man are divinely adapted to this sublime task ; who 

 see that the laws of nature must be understood before they can be 

 obeyed, and that only through this understanding can man r 

 the mastery of its powers, and bring himself into final harmony 

 with his conditions. These will recognize that the discovery of 

 new principles which expand, and elevate, and harmonize our views 

 of the universe which involve the workings of the mind itself 

 open a new chapter in philosophy, and touch the very foundations 

 of knowledge, cannot be without a determining influence upon the 

 future course and development of thought, and the spirit and 

 methods of its acquisition. 



