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plain that nothing can be proven; and if nothing should be believed without proof, nothing should be believed. But Man is not the victim of perpetual illusions. The universe he inhabits is not "a heap of perceptions without substance." There are truths which lie within his reach: some are self-evident, others may be ascertained by experiment, or discovered by reason, which it is impossible to doubt, and madness to deny. To explore these is the province of philosophy. But there are truths which deeply concern the welfare of mankind, both in regard to this life, & that to come, which human reason could never bring to light. (((If they might have been conjectured, from the appearances of nature, & the economy of Providence, they were susceptible of no other proof, than a disclosure of his mind & purposes, in whose bosom they were concealed.))) Compared with these, the truths of science dwindle into insignificance. It profits Man little to know what are the elements of creation, the principles of its composition, the

transcription note: words enclosed in triple parentheses are crossed out