PREFACE.

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which the labours of the philosophers of all ageshave developed. Science loses its character whenit is used solely to gratify the personal vanity, oreither to make a name, or to give a fortune to itsfollower.

Although the system of Electro-Biology has ex-tended with a rapidity, both at home and abroad,which even an author’s sanguine expectationscould not have led him to anticipate; yet manydifficulties are opposed to its yet more rapid pro-gress. The misapprehensions of other writersupon the subject, cause them to publish statementsat direct variation with my meaning; and after threeworks have been already published, each explana-tory of the subject, the reader may judge my inex-pressible astonishment, at reading, a short timesince, that Mr. Smee had asserted, that “ Life wasVoltaism,” followed by a long argument to provethe incorrectness of the assertion !

Misapprehensions may arise from my own am-biguity of expression, or the reader’s insufficientattention, or from the imperfection of words andlanguage to convey exact ideas ; but I regretto state that one or two instances have occurred