Book Description

Excerpt from History of Great Britain and Ireland: With an Account of the Present State and Resources of the United Kingdom and Its Colonies; For the Use of Schools and Private Students It is unnecessary to dwell upon the importance of the study of history - particularly the history of our own country. From it we learn not only what our forefathers thought and did, but their failures and errors are a warning to ourselves; while the glories they have achieved, the freedom they have won, are an appeal to us neither to disgrace the one nor forfeit the other. The young reader should not forget, as he studies the following pages, that less than four hundred years ago several continental nations were far in advance of England in the arts and luxuries of life, in social and political well-being. Here he will learn, very briefly indeed, how it is, that while Spain, Italy, France, and even Germany - the first especially - have fallen behind in the race, this country has gradually attained the noble pre-eminence she now enjoys of teaching the nations how to live. This political independence was not the fruit of repeated revolutions, of sweeping massacres and confiscations, of blood-stained victories, or diplomatic ma noeuvres; but it was won by the calm and patient energies Of an earnest, religious, and law-loving people - Of a people who cling fondly to the recollections of the past even while altering their institutions to meet the wants of the future. And it is in order to show this more plainly that much mis cellaneous matter has been introduced throughout the volume. 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.