My work has its geography, as it has its genealogy and its families,
its places and things, its persons and their deeds; as it has its
heraldry, its nobles and commonalty, its artisans and peasants, its
politicians and dandies, its army--in short, a whole world of its own.

After describing social life in these three portions, I had to
delineate certain exceptional lives, which comprehend the interests of
many people, or of everybody, and are in a degree outside the general
law. Hence we have Scenes of Political Life. This vast picture of
society being finished and complete, was it not needful to display it
in its most violent phase, beside itself, as it were, either in
self-defence or for the sake of conquest? Hence the Scenes of Military
Life, as yet the most incomplete portion of my work, but for which
room will be allowed in this edition, that it may form part of it when
done. Finally, the Scenes of Country Life are, in a way, the evening
of this long day, if I may so call the social drama. In that part are
to be found the purest natures, and the application of the great
principles of order, politics, and morality.

Such is the foundation, full of actors, full of comedies and
tragedies, on which are raised the Philosophical Studies--the second
part of my work, in which the social instrument of all these effects
is displayed, and the ravages of the mind are painted, feeling after
feeling; the first of the series, _The Magic Skin_, to some extent
forms a link between the Philosophical Studies and Studies of Manners,
by a work of almost Oriental fancy, in which life itself is shown in a
mortal struggle with the very element of all passion.

Besides these, there will be a series of Analytical Studies, of which
I will say nothing, for one only is published as yet--The Physiology