INTRODUCTION. 



forms of inorganic and organic being, of which the 

 solid earth, the liquid sea, and the fluid air, are formed, 

 and by which they are inhabited. The fabrications of 

 man are, on the other hand, in a state of commenced 

 decay the instant that they are made ; and without 

 the constant labour of repair and replacing, they would 

 perish altogether. The most extensive cities, and the 

 strongest fortifications, after man abandons them to 

 their fate, fade and moulder away, so that the people 

 of after-ages dispute, not merely about the places where 

 they were situated, but about the very fact of their 

 existence. It is true that, when man takes any of 

 nature's productions out of the place or circumstances 

 for which nature has fitted them, and supports them 

 by artificial means, they cannot continue to exist after 

 those means are withdrawn, any more than a roof can 

 remain suspended in the air after the walls or parts 

 that supported it are withdrawn ; or, a cork will remain 

 at the bottom of a basin of water, after the weight that 

 kept it from rising to the surface has been removed. 

 If man will have artificial shelter and food, he must 

 keep in repair the house that he has built, trim the 

 garden he has planted, and plough and sow the field 

 from which he is to obtain his artificial crop ; but if he 

 would content himself with that which is produced 

 without importation, and artificial culture, no planting, 

 sowing, or culture is necessary; for whether it be in 

 the warm regions or in the cold, in the sheltered 

 valley or upon the storm-beaten hill, in the close 

 forest or upon the open down, nature does her part 

 without intermission or error ; and while the results are 

 so many and so beautiful, the causes are those qualities 



