Excerpt from The Touchstone of Character: Translated From the French No One appreciates more fully than we do, the books of devotion composed by the theologians of the last two cen turies. Many of these works exhibit a solid science, an enlightened piety, and an ardent zeal for the salvation of souls. But it is equally incontestable that these books, (we speak of the greater number) written in a severe and exclu sively theological style, are no longer in harmony with the intellectual requirements and literary habits of those who live in the midst of the world. Long since we formed the project of a library, which might present, clothed in the language of our own age, a collection of those truths which should conduct souls progressively, even to the sublime heights of evangelical perfection, - a perfection intended as the Saviour teaches for all Christians, and for all conditions in life. 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.