H^^> RUTH is our element of life, yet if a 

 j man fasten his attention on a single 

 aspect of truth, and apply himself to 

 that alone for a long time, the truth becomes 

 distorted and not itself, but falsehood; herein 

 resembling the air, which is our natural ele- 

 ment, and the breath of our nostrils, but if 

 a stream of the same be directed on the body 

 for a time, it causes colds, fever, and even 

 death. How wearisome the grammarian, the 

 phrenologist, the political or religious fanatic, 

 or indeed any possessed mortal whose bal- 

 ance is lost by the exaggeration of a single 

 topic. It is incipient insanity. Every thought 

 is a prison also. I cannot see what you see, 

 because I am caught up by a strong wind, 

 and blown so far in one direction that I am 

 out of the hoop of your horizon. 



