Excerpt from Sermons, Lectures, and Essays Difficult it is for any one to speak of himself, or his own work, the author of this book has but a short Preface to write. The book was written at the suggestion of many friends. If it should appear that their judgment is exceeded by their friendship, he trusts that the reader may not see as many faults as he does himself. We have not al lowed the severity of our taste to have full sway, knowing that many a book has been Spoiled by excessive snicety and precision. These discourses are not reproductions as de livered, but contain many of the same thoughts. 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.