Excerpt from Life and Letters of James David Forbes This biography is the work of three writers, each working separately and, in a great measure, independently of the other two. This subdivision of labour has, I am aware, serious drawbacks, and would not have been resorted to, had any one person been found who could have undertaken adequately to describe the various aspects of Forbes' life and work. But, in default of a writer who could do this, it was thought better to portion out the work to three writers, than to have it inadequately done by one. No doubt the book has in this way lost something in symmetry, but it is hoped that it may have gained more in thoroughness and completeness. In thinking over Forbes' life and work, these naturally appeared in several aspects, all harmoniously combined, yet each distinct in itself. 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.