An essay on the history of civil society / [Adam Ferguson].

  • Adam Ferguson
Date:
1789
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on the history of civil society / [Adam Ferguson]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    13/438 page 3
    => fing any of the apprehenfions and paffions which the voice and the gefture are fo well fitted to exprefs. Others have made the ftate of nature to confift in perpetual wars kindled by compe- tition for dominion and intereft, where every individual had a feparate quarrel with his kind, and where the prefence of a fellow - crea'ture was the fignal of battle. The defire of laying the foundation of a fa- vourite fyftem , or a fond expectation , perhaps , that we may be able to penetrate the fecrets of nature, to the very fource of exigence, have, on this fubied, led to many fruitlefs inquiries, and given rife to many wild fnppofitions. Among the various qualities which mankind poffefs, we feled one or a few particulars on which to' eftablifh a theory, and in framing our account of what man was in fome imaginary ftate of nature, We over- look what he has always appeared within the reach of our own obfervation, and in the records of hiftory. In every other inftance, however, the natural hiftorian thinks himf.df obliged to colled fads , not to offer conjedures. When he treats of any particular fpecies of animals, he fuppofe*, that their prefent difpofitions and inftinds are the fame which they originally had, and that their prefent manner t>f life is a continuance of their fir ft deftination: He admits, that his knowledge of the material fyftem of the world confiftsin a colledion of fads or at moft, in general tenets derived from parti- cular obfervatioas and experiments. It is only in B a?
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