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In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed... No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people. Preface to 1828 Dictionary
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VES'TIGE, n. [L. vestigium. This word and vestibule, show that some verb signifying to tread, from which they are derived, is lost.]
The
mark of the foot left on the earth; a track or footstep; a trace; a sign;
hence, a faint mark or visible sign left by something which is lost, or has
perished, or is no longer present; remains; as, the vestiges of
ancient magnificence in Palmyra; vestiges of former
population.
What vestiges of liberty or property have they left? Burke. Ridicule has followed the vestiges of Truth, but never usurped her place. Landor. Syn. -- Trace; mark; sign; token. -- Vestige, Trace. These words agree in marking some indications of the past, but differ to some extent in their use and application. Vestige is used chiefly in a figurative sense, for the remains something long passed away; as, the vestiges of ancient times; vestiges of the creation. A trace is literally something drawn out in a line, and may be used in this its primary sense, or figuratively, to denote a sign or evidence left by something that has passed by, or ceased to exist. Vestige usually supposes some definite object of the past to be left behind; while a trace may be a mere indication that something has been present or is present; as, traces of former population; a trace of poison in a given substance. A
small, degenerate, or imperfectly developed part or organ which has
been more fully developed in some past generation.
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