Excerpt from Illustrated Biography: Or Memoirs of the Great and the Good of All Nations and All Times History has been aptly termed "Philosophy teaching by example." True as the axiom may be in a general sense, it applies with especial force to that volume of historic record which presents for contemplation the lives and characters of those members of the human family who, whether as statesmen, patriots, or warriors - as workers in the attractive fields of literature, science, and the arts - as devoted laborers in the cause of benevolence and charity - or as humble and earnest disciples of the cross - have "Won the wreath of fame, And written on Memory's scroll a deathless name." The true province of history being more properly the biography of nations, is its study we gain a knowledge of men only so far as they may have been prominent actors in the events recorded. We may see the military chieftain amid the smoke and furor of the battlefield, and the statesman in the halls of legislation - we may catch glimpses of the man of letters among his books - of the artist in his studio - of the philanthropist on his errand of charity and love - but they are transient and incidental, while the motor or mainspring of action is concealed from our view. Where history thus furnishes but an imperfect sketch, biography presents the finished picture. It portrays the man of eminence in private life as well as in his public career. By its aid we trace his course "from the cradle to the grave" - we see him in the freshness of youth, perhaps struggling against an adverse current, buoyant with hope - and we see him in the noonday of existence, when the aspirations of early life have ripened into the stern realities of manhood - and from this meridian height we follow him on the declining plane of life's journey to its close. The knowledge thus acquired of human nature and of human character - of the principles and incentives to action of those who have passed from earth, leaving behind them "footprints on the sands of time," renders biography, to the young especially, an eminently useful study. While it points out and enables them to avoid the dangerous quicksands upon which, in the "voyage of life," the berks of some have unfortunately wrecked, the examples of others (of which this volume contains many instances) who, by industry, energy, and perseverance, have risen from comparative obscurity to positions of eminence and usefulness, are an encouragement to honorable exertion, which can scarcely be too highly estimated. 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.