The Critical Review Or Annals Of Literature 1804 Vol 1 Classic Reprint PDF Download

Excerpt from The Critical Review, or Annals of Literature, Vol. 19: January, 1810 When a writer has bestowed on one particular subject the whole of his tim'e and labour, for many years of his life, it always appears to imply some degree of arrogance and pre sumption in those who cannot possibly have examined the subject with the same degree of painful accuracy, to pretend to be his judges and censors. This, in the course of our duty as reviewers, we are often called upon to do; and the spirit of candour will generally attribute to our animadversions the 'motives which have suggested them, and the character which they are designed to support. For instance, a reviewer may be a good and sound mathematician; he certainly ought to be so before he pretends to notice a single treatise, however in considerable, on a mathematical subject. But if the works ofa great and experienced master in the science pass under his inspection, his ofiice is, generally speaking, reduced to that of laying before the public a plain and succinct view of the nature of the work, and of the points intended to be iproved. He is not, indeed, forbidden - his duty, on the con trary, enjoins him, to give his opinion as to any matter in which it appears to him that there is a deficiency of proof or an 'error of calculation or reasoning; for, such is human nature, that the greatest and wisest among us sometimes com mit errors which are liable to the detection of those who are greatly our inferiors in wisdom and understanding. But these objections, and these sentiments, are to be delivered, (in the case we a're supposing) not with the authority of a judge, but with the modesty of a patient inquirer, zealous to attain truth himself, and to communicate it to others. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.