Sentence:  He did not enter upon the subject without being aware that government by its very nature counteracts the improvement of individual intellect; but, as the views he entertains in this particular are out of the common road, it is <WSD>scarcely</WSD> to be wondered at that he understood the proposition more completely as he proceeded, and saw more distinctly into the nature of the remedy. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Certainly not.