BRIDGEWATER TREATISES.
This series of Treatises is published under the following circumstances:—
The Right Honorable and Rev. Francis Henry, Earl of Bridgewater, died in the month of February,
1825; he directed certain trustees therein named, to invest in the public funds, the sum of eight thousand
pounds sterling; this sum, with the accruing dividends thereon, to be held at the disposal of the President,
for the time being, of the Royal Society of London, to be paid to the person or persons nominated by him.
The Testator farther directed, that the person or persons selected by the said President, should be appointed
to write, print and publish one thousand comes of a work, on the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as
manifested in the Creation; illustrating such work, by all reasonable arguments, as, for instance, the variety
and formation of God's creatures in the Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral Kingdoms; the effect of digestion,
and, thereby, of conversion; the construction of the hand of man, and an infinite variety of other arguments;
as also by discoveries, ancient and modern, in arts, sciences, and the whole extent of literature.
He desired, moreover, that the profits arising from the sale of the works so published, should be paid to the
authors of the works.
The late President of the Royal Society, Davies Gilbert, Esq., requested the assistance of his Grace, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and of the Bishop of London, in determining upon the best mode of carrying into
effect, the intentions of the Testator. Acting with their advice, and with the concurrence of a nobleman
immediately connected with the deceased, Mr. Davies Gilbert appointed the following eight gentlemen to
write separate Treatises in the different branches of the subjects here stated:—
I. The Adaptation of External Nature to the Moral and Intellectual Constitution of Man, by the Rev.
Thomas Chalmers, D. D., Professor of Divinity in the University of Edinburgh.
II. The Adaptation of External Nature to the Physical Condition of Man, by John Kidd, M. D., F. R. S.,
Regius Professor of Medicine in the University of Oxford.
III. Astronomy and General Physics, considered with reference to Natural Theology, by the Rev. William
Whewell, M. A., F. R. S., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
IV. The Hand; its mechanism and vital endowments as evincing design, by Sir Charles Bell, K. H., F. R. S.
V. Animal and Vegetable Physiology, by Peter Mark Roget, M. D., Fellow of and Secretary to the Royal
Society.
VI. Geology and Mineralogy, by the Rev. Wm. Buckland, D. D., F. R. S., Canon of Christ Church, and
Professor of Geology in the University of Oxford.
VII. The History, Habits, and Instincts of Animals, by the Rev. Wm. Kirby, M. A., F. R. S.
VIII. Chemistry, Meteorology, and the Function of Digestion, by Wm. Prout, M. D., F. R. S.
THE FOLLOWING ARE PUBLISHED.
ON THE ADAPTATION OF EXTERNAL
NATURE TO THE MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL
CONSTITUTION OF
MAN. By the Rev. Thomas Chalmers,
D. D.; being Part I. of the Bridgewater
Treatises on the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness
of God, as manifested in the Creation.
In one vol. 12mo.
"The volumes before us are every way worthy of their
subject. It would seem almost supererogatory to pass
any judgment on the style of a writer so celebrated as
Dr. Chalmers. He is well known as a logician not to be
baffled by any difficulties, as one who boldly grapples
with his theme, and brings every energy of his clear and
nervous intellect into the field. No sophistry escapes
his eagle vision—no argument that could either enforce
or illustrate his subject is left untouched. Our literature
owes a deep debt of gratitude to the author of these admirable
volumes."—Lit. Gazette.
"Dr. Chalmers has here added another to the many
unspeakable services which he has rendered before. No
praise can add to his character, and no words could express
the reviewer's sense of Dr. Chalmers' merits. It is
a great pleasure to think of such a man; for without
agreeing with him on every point, it is impossible not
to feel that he has devoted a mighty mind to the best of
causes—that every feeling and thought are disinterested
—that he is always laboring in the cause of God and
man—and that many of the truths which he is scattering,
will, at last, by God's blessing, be instrumental in
destroying errors when he is low in the dust."—British
Magazine.
A TREATISE ON THE ADAPTATION
OF EXTERNAL NATURE TO THE
PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN,
principally with reference to the supply of
his wants, and the exercise of his intellectual
faculties. By John Kidd, M. D., F. R. S.,
Regius Professor of Medicine in the University
of Oxford; being Part II. of the Bridgewater
Treatises on the Power, Wisdom, and
Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation.
In one vol. 12mo.
"It is ably written, and replete both with interest and
instruction. The diffusion of such works cannot fail to
be attended with the happiest effects in justifying `the
ways of God to man,' and illustrating the wisdom and
goodness of the Creator by arguments which appeal irresistibly
both to the reason and the feelings. Few can
understand abstract reasoning, and still fewer relish it,
or will listen to it, but in this work the purest morality
and the kindliest feelings are inculcated through the
medium of agreeable and useful information."—Baltimore
Gazette.
"It should be in the hands of every individual who
feels disposed to `vindicate the ways of God to man.' "—
N. Y. Com. Adv.
"No one will read this book without profit; it is certainly
one of the most interesting volumes we have
ever read."—Phil. Gazette.
"Dr. Kidd has fulfilled his task, and may claim the
gratitude of those who delight to contemplate the wisdom
of Providence in the works of nature, and to discover
the adaptation of the vegetable to the animal
world, and the subserviency of the whole to the high
destinies of man."—U. S. Gazette.
"We congratulate Professor Kidd on the production
of his work, and repeat the commendation, to which, as
a popular treatise, it is indisputably entitled."—Christian
Remembrancer.
ASTRONOMY AND GENERAL PHYSICS,
considered with reference to Natural
Theology. By the Rev. William Whewell,
M. A., Fellow and Tutor of Trinity
College, Cambridge; being Part III. of the
Bridgewater Treatises on the Power, Wisdom,
and Goodness of God, as manifested in
the Creation. In one vol. 12mo.
"It is a work of profound investigation, deep research,
distinguished alike for the calm Christian spirit which it
breathes throughout, and the sound, irresistible argumentation
which is stamped on every page."—
Daily Intelligencer.
"Let works like that before us be widely disseminated,
and the bold, active, and ingenious enemies of religion
be met by those, equally sagacious, alert and resolute,
and the most timid of the many who depend upon
the few, need not fear the host that comes with subtle
steps to `steal their faith away.' "—N. Y. American.
"That the devoted spirit of the work is most exemplary,
that we have here and there found, or fancied,
room for cavil, only peradventure because we have been
unable to follow the author through the prodigious range
of his philosophical survey—and in a word, that the
work before us would have made the reputation of any
other man, and may well maintain even that of Professor
Whewell."—Metropolitan.
"He has succeeded admirably in laying a broad foundation,
in the light of nature, for the reception of the
more glorious truths of revelation; and has produced a
work well calculated to dissipate the delusions of scepticism
and infidelity, and to confirm the believer in his
faith."—Charleston Courier.
"The known talents, and high reputation of the author,
gave an earnest of excellence, and nobly has Mr.
Whewell redeemed the pledge.—In conclusion, we have
no hesitation in saying, that the present is one of the
best works of its kind, and admirably adapted to the end
proposed; as such, we cordially recommend it to our
readers."—London Lit. Gazette.
"It is a work of high character."—Boston Recorder.
THE HAND: ITS MECHANISM AND
VITAL ENDOWMENTS, AS EVINCING
DESIGN. By Sir Charles Bell,
K. G. H.; being Part IV. of the Bridgewater
Treatises on the Power, Wisdom, and
Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation.
In one vol. 12mo.
"In the present treatise, it is a matter of the warmest
satisfaction to find an anatomist of Sir Charles Bell's
great eminence, professing his contempt for the late
fashionable doctrines of Materialism held by so many
anatomists, and now coming forward to present the
fruits of his wide researches and great ability, in a treatise
so full of curious and interesting matter, expressly
intended to prove, by the examination of one particular
point, that design which is impressed on all parts of the
various animals which in some degree answer the purposes
of the hand, and has shown that the hand is not
the source of contrivance, nor consequently of man's
superiority, as some materialists have maintained. To
this he has added some very valuable remarks, showing
the uses of pain, and he has illustrated this work with
a variety of the most admirable and interesting wood
cuts."—British Magazine.
***The remaining volumes are now in a state of progress, and will be published without
any delay.
