"It is the authority of the less general case, which most commonly prevails, inasmuch as it generally precedes the interpretation of the more general case in the order of investigation, and is more immediately and more essentially connected with the first principles of the science. Assuming therefore the correctness of the interpretation of the less general case, it is by an inductive process of reasoning only, that we pass from it to the interpretation of the more general case, and the existence of one does not determine, in the mathematical sense of the term, the existence of the other: but it is the necessary connection which exists between the interpretation of the more general result and those which are subordinate to it, which makes it so important to examine and ascertain the latter..."