TENDENCY TO THEORIZE. 
41 
confinement^ which whet their beaks^ and 
wear their wings, in the ineffectual attempt 
to escape from the bars of their prison-house. 
Hence the prevalence of lofty but barren 
speculations during the infancy of moral 
and physical science, and hence the tendency 
to prefer discursive arguments respecting 
the origin of things, to the description of the 
things themselves. In no department of 
learning has this ambitious habit of the 
mind been so conspicuously displayed as in 
the study of geology. We run the risk of 
taking our science out of the catalogue of 
interesting topics, when we claim for it the 
humble place of being chiefly a repertory of 
facts as they are; and assign to it, as a 
secondary office only, the task of aiding in 
the construction of theories of the earth. 
Nor ought the simple object of registering 
natural phenomena, to be despised as be¬ 
neath the dignity of our nature, or the 
design of our faculties. 
Every display of intelligence in the works 
of creation may minister both to the increase 
of our knowledge and the excitement of 
devout feelings. Although true piety 
D 5 
can 
