Excerpt from The Skeptics of the Italian Renaissance At the same time, and with the distinction just pointed out remaining prominently before our minds, we must by no means forget that Skepticism in the View of the Author, and as an inspiring principle of the following work, implies the function of a natural energy or intellectual organ. Hence it has qualities and discharges offices which are necessarily akin in all periods and in all conditions. Especially its relations critical and antagonistic - to dogma of every kind, must under every variety of condition and circumstance be very largely similar if not identical. It is therefore of primary importance that the meaning and sphere of Skepticism should be marked out with as great clearness as possible. For this purpose the author is persuaded he cannot do better than lay before his readers a few observations partly apologetic, partly expository, extracted from the preface of his former work. Besides throw ing light on the subject and treatment of the present work, it may help to set at rest a misconception - against which the author has been struggling for years - which has long affected and perverted current notions of Skepticism both in Philosophy and Theology. 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.