Excerpt from Nature a Parable: A Poem, in Seven BooksThe present work was originally undertaken as a relief from engagements of a more laborious kind. It struck me that in all writers not of the very driest class, there are some things of an imaginative hue, and that I might therefore not disadvantageously employ my leisure hours in correcting and chastening whatever amount of imaginative tendencies I had myself, by noticing things of the kind in the works of the Fathers. I went to them in this as in other respects with a desire to consult them as oracles, not to judge of them as authors. As for a blind reverence for them, I cannot believe that such a thing exists, or was ever even talked of except by such as were either ignorant of their writings, or.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis 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.