Genre:

Introduction; Extract

Publications extracted:

Duncan 1836–37

Subjects:

Reading, Education, Amusement, Natural Theology, Biblical Authority, Piety, Instinct

    The introduction intimates that the volume 'is just such a fire-side book as we could wish to see in the hands of our young readers during the Christmas holidays, as we think it no less calculated to give a zest to their healthful rambles over hill and valley than to those more philosophical pursuits to which the long evenings of winter are occasionally devoted'. Notes that the author wisely discards 'the antiquated idea of leading the mind "through nature up to nature's God"', knowing that 'the entrance of God's word only can give such light as will enable us to behold his works to most advantage'. (418) The extract spiritualizes accounts of the hibernation and migration of animal species in the winter, relating them to aspects of Christian living.