Since 'the proper study of mankind is man',—nor aforetime Was the proverb esteem'd as a truism less than it is now,— 'Tis strange that the method lay out of sight unaccomplisht, And that we, so late to arrive, should first set a value On the delusive efforts of human babyhood; and so Witnessing impatiently the rear of their disappearance, Upgathering the relics and vestiges of primitive man, Should ratify v instinct for scīence, look to the darkness For light, find a knowledge where 'twas most groping or unknown: 240
— from The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Excluding the Eight Dramas by Robert Bridges

In the first place, it is to be remarked, on the one hand, that although the human intellect can by itself (provided it be not overruled by the sway of sensual appetites) recognise summarily the excellence of such principles, and give them unreservedly its sanction, yet its perceptions with respect to their specialities remain very imperfect, for several reasons: first, because it finds itself unable to rebut and conquer one by one all the objections which the infidel may bring forward; secondly, in consequence of the doubts which its own limited powers sometimes suggest, impairing its own sense of the truth; and lastly, because wanting the knowledge of many details and circumstances, about which it can form no judgment, the intellect cannot construct a complete rationalistic system of moral theology.
— from A Guide for the Religious Instruction of Jewish Youth by Isaac Samuel Reggio