THE following tracts, having passed through various editions at home and abroad, are now collected to meet the wishes of those, who may incline to possess them in a durable form. In common with all writings, which have obtained a good degree of notice, they have been criti- cized freely; but as they have been published not to dic- tate opinions, but to excite thought and inquiry, they have not failed of their end, even when they have pro- voked doubt or reply. They have, I think, the merit of being earnest expressions of the writer's mind, and of giving the results of quiet, long-continued thought.
Some topics will be found to recur often, perhaps the reader may think too often; but it is in this way, that a writer manifests his individuality, and he can in no other do justice to his own mind. Men are distinguished from one another, not merely by difference of thoughts, but often more by the different degrees of relief or prominence, which they give to the same thoughts. In nature, what an immense dissimilarity do we observe in organized bodies, which consist of the same parts or elements, but in which these are found in great diversity of proportions! So, to learn what a man is, it is not enough to dissect his mind, and see separately the thoughts and feelings which successively possess him. The question is, what thoughts
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Publication Information: Book Title: A Selection from the Works of William E. Channing, D.D. Contributors: William E. Channing - author. Publisher: American Unitarian Association. Place of Publication: Boston. Publication Year: 1855. Page Number: 1.
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