Book Description

Excerpt from The Treasure of Montezuma If I deviate in this instance from the rule hitherto observed, not to present a preface to my works, it is because the present production of my pen differs widely from those I have hitherto given to the public. As a general thing prefaces are superfluous in works of fiction, betraying an amusing, though pardonable, vanity on the part of the writer, and the erroneous supposition that the reader extends to him the interest he takes in his production. If the present work had merely entertainment in view, as had my former productions, I would have abstained from intruding personally on the reader; but this is not the case. While I have endeavored to entertain I have no less endeavored to instruct, and of such magnitude, in my estimation, is the subject laid before the reader, that I deem an explanation of my reasons for embodying it in a story not only justifiable but necessary. Whether I have done the subject justice is a question whose answer I must leave to the reader, claiming only the sincerest conviction of the correctness of the principles expounded, and the purest motives in their promulgation. I presume it is generally conceded that at no time has there existed such universal dissatisfaction with the condition of social affairs as now; but while the acknowledgement of this fact is nearly universal, the opinions as to its causes vary greatly. Hundreds of writers and thinkers have racked their brains for plausible explanations of the puzzling phenomenon, without, however, bringing it much nearer a solution. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This 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.