THIRD PEBIOD. I29 



most general views : the study of it accords with 

 every age, with every disposition of mind, and 

 every profession in life : it yields assistance to 

 agriculture, medicine and the arts, and power- 

 fully contributes to the wealth of nations. As 

 its object is to ascertain and connect facts, and 

 not to investigate causes, it is free from the un- 

 certainty of hypothesis ; and if observation is 

 sometimes incomplete, nature is always at hand 

 to dissipate doubts and to rectify errors. 



But to obtain the results that may be hoped 

 from it , and spare the student the laborious re- 

 searches of his predecessors, there must exist a 

 repository of knowledge, from which he may 

 borrow to enrich it in his turn. This reposi- 

 tory is the Museum : founded by our monarchs, 

 adorned by men of genius, and governed by en- 

 lightened administrators, it has hitherto resisted 

 every shock, escaped amid every scene of devas- 

 tation, and excited the admiration of rival na- 

 tions. The warrant of its duration is its utility, 

 and the protection of a Sovereign, whose glory 

 can only increase as the progress of knowledge 

 shall render more evident the wisdom of his 

 institutions. 



9 



