However much, at first sight, Mr. Burke's opinion may appear to
militate against such an Inquiry, when duly considered, it will be
found, not only to approve of the end, but to point out the manner in
which the inquiry ought to be conducted; namely, by consulting
history. [end of page #ix]

If it is allowed that any practical advantage is to be derived from the
history of the past, it can only be, in so far as it is applicable to the
present and the future; and, if there is none, it is melancholy to reflect
on the volumes that have been written without farther utility than to
gratify idle curiosity. Are the true lessons of history, because they are
never completely applicable to present affairs, to be ranked with the
entertaining, but almost useless, pages of romance? No, certainly. Of
the inheritance possessed by the present generation, the history of
those that are gone before, is not the least valuable portion. Each
reader now makes his application in his own way. It is an irregular
application, but not an useless one; and it is, therefore, hoped, that an
Inquiry, founded on a regular plan of comparison and analogy, cannot
but be of some utility.

But why do we treat that as hypothetical, of which there can be no
doubt? Wherefore should there be two opinions concerning the utility
of an inquiry into those mighty events, that have removed wealth and
commerce from the Euphrates and the Nile, to the Thames and the
Texel? Does not the sun rise, and do not the seasons return to the
plains of Egypt, and the deserts of Syria, the same as they did three
thousand years ago? Is not [end of page #x] inanimate nature the same
now that it was then? Are the principles of vegetation altered? Or have
the subordinate animals refused to obey the will of man, to assist him
in his labour, or to serve him for his food? No; nature is not less