by the sale of books; and further, millions of our people never in their lives have even entered a bookstore, and millions upon millions do not annually average the possession of a single new book. With all our self-congratulated civilization, the mass of even our most enlightened communities is far behind a proper standard of cultivation, as is illustrated by the universal desire for tinsel and displayby the fawning to those who by the exercise of abhorrent qualities have accumulated an unusual share of externals; in the want of value for genuine worth and in a true idea of the objects of life generally. In fact, Ignorance everywhere rears his stupid front, and among the best weapons with which to vanquish him are books, and in the interior, with a vast number, the habit of obtaining and of using these will not be acquired unless brought to their very doors.
This volume is principally composed of abridgments from a great variety of sources, as will be seen by reference to another page, where Authorities are given. Works so constructed, and this mode of circulating them, are among the most useful of instrumentalities in the universal diffusion of knowledge, the fruits of which tend to the permanent happiness and elevation of our common humanity.