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sea atmosphere climate organic life distribu- 

 tion of plants distribution of animals races of man 

 languages, and so on, to show that their physical 

 organisation (the articulation of sound) is governed by 

 intelligence (the produce and manifestation of which 

 is speech). In the special part all statistical results, 

 as exact as in Laplace's " Exposition du Systeme du 

 Monde." As these details are not capable of being 

 treated from a literary point of view, in the same way 

 as the general combinations of natural science, the pure 

 facts will be stated in short sentences arranged almost 

 tabularly, so that the student, in a few pages, may find 

 under the head of Climate, Terrestrial Magnetism, &c., 

 results, in a condensed form, which it would take many 

 years of study to acquire. Uniformity of style, (i.e., 

 harmony in the whole as a literary production) will be 

 attained by short introductions to each chapter in the 

 special part. Ottfried Miiller has followed this plan 

 with great success in his admirably-written work on 

 Archaeology. 



I wanted you, my dear friend, to have from me per- 

 sonally a clear idea of my undertaking. I have not 

 succeeded in compressing the whole into one volume ; 

 and yet it would have left the grandest impression in 

 that abbreviated form. I hope two volumes will include 

 the whole. No foot-notes, but notes at the end of 

 each chapter, which may be passed over, but contain 

 sound erudition and additional details. The whole is 

 not what has hitherto been commonly called " Physical 

 Description of the Earth," as it comprises all created 

 things Heaven and Earth. I began it in French fif- 

 teen years ago, and called it " Essai sur la Physique du 

 Monde." In Germany I intended at first to call it 



c 



