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Atheist asserts, that this visible material universe is that necessarily existing something. His opinion, therefore, is, that as there is an infinite variety of beings in the universe, and a great diversity of qualities, faculties, and perfections appertaining to the several kinds of them, yet, that the very lowest of all, namely, senseless passive matter, must be the first principle, the eternal self-existent being, from which, as the sole independent origin, all things, even the most regular and beautiful, arose; together with the highest perfection of understanding, virtue, and felicity, without any active, intelligent, designing cause. But this hypothesis is incumbered with insurmountable difficulties; for it can account for nothing in the whole visible creation, without attributing it to what is in itself nothing, Necessity, or Chance. Neither of these can account for the beautiful order, proportion, and harmony, so visible in the whole creation; nor for the formation of animal life in such variety of species, all preserved distinct from each, without confusion, and propagated by a settled law-each fitted to its own element, provided with proper food for subsistence, and proper means for procuring it; with suitable instincts and organs, particularly sensation and self-motion, the principal appearances of the sensitive life. Nor is it possible, moreover, on the atheistical hypothesis, to account for conscious intelligence, which it diminishes into a vain and empty shadow, the accidental result of the figure of matter and motion; although, as it is this very conscious intelligence that makes man himself, nothing can appear to him more real and substantial.

But the doctrine of a Deity and a Providence is absolutely the reverse of this, and explains the system of the universe in a consistent and satisfactory manIt represents intelligence as the first of things, the cause and origin of all derived beings; and, by the aid of this representation, all things appear in a

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beautiful and amiable light. A supreme, eternal, self-existent mind, immutably possessed of all absolute perfections, formed the plan of universal creation, and finished it according to his own perfect model; the unceasing object of admiration to those superior minds, who endeavour to improve their intellectual and moral powers, and, by the study of Nature and of Nature's God, to rise to the most sublime heights of science and of virtue'.

It was, indeed, to be expected, that the work of a Divine Architect should bear the signature of his hand; that his infinite goodness, and wisdom, and power should be displayed in the magnificence and variety, the beautiful proportion and exquisite harmony of the whole. The entire mass of extended passive matter, in itself so mean and contemptible, is formed into various beauty, by the energy of spirit that pervades it. Hence there is a gradual ascent to the utmost heights of excellence; and in every rising step of the scale we behold a growing display of original perfection. Vegetation itself is a wonderful improvement upon dead matter; but animal sensation and spontaneous volition, however low in comparison, are strong images of understanding and activity, Human intelligence, with its various powers, exercises, and enjoyments, is the highest in our world, and leads us directly to the Great Original, the Uncreated Mind, by which it was formed. Between these two there seems to be an immense chasm; but we have reason to imagine, that there are intermediate orders of celestial beings, superior to us; although the most exalted of them must ever be at an infinite distance from unoriginated excellence.

In the various subjects of my preceding papers, the reader must have observed many striking instances, in which the wisdom and contrivance of a

'See some beautiful lines on this subject in p. 218.

supreme directing power were too evident to be denied. In the productions of an infinite mind, much, however, must remain for ever incomprehensible by the most enlightened mortal. This, so far from being an argument against the existence of contrivance and design in every thing we see, demonstrates only the infinite distance between the underived source of all perfection, and the most exalted excellence of which human understanding can form a conception. Can we by searching find out God? Can we find out the Almighty unto perfection1? Yet, although unsearchable his nature, and inscrutable his ways, enough is known to excite the most awful sentiments of wonder and adoration. For the invisible things of Him, who dwelleth in unapproached light, even his eternal power and godhead, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. The heavens declare His glory, and the firmament showeth His handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge*.

But I have already expatiated upon this sublime subject', and the limits of this paper will not permit me to attempt a more copious discussion. Nothing can be more improving than frequent meditations on this inexhaustible theme; nothing more instructive than inquiries into the general laws of nature: provided, after all, that the result of our researches be not the mere gratification of useless curiosity, or enlargement of the sources of unprofitable amusement, but a deep sense of the infinite wisdom and power of the Supreme Being; the cultivation of those devout affections which a grateful sense of his unceasing goodness should inspire; a sincere and steady obedience to his holy laws, in the unaffected exercises

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of piety, the practice of all the moral virtues, and, more particularly, the delightful sentiment of benevolence, from our own small domestic circle, expanding and expanding, till it include the whole human race. Nor should a religious acquiescence in all the divine dispensations be forgotten: it will naturally spring from a firm and well-grounded confidence in the over-ruling providence of God: it will fill the mind with consolation in calamity, with serenity in the more prosperous scenes of life, with fortitude in sickness, and with peace, and hope, and joy, even in the moment of dissolution. But the habits of piety and virtue must be formed, not by a few momentary and transient sentiments, but by serious and frequent meditations on such subjects; and I would fain adopt myself, and wish all my readers to adopt, the charming sentiment of the poet of the Seasons:

For me, when I forget the darling theme,
Whether the blossom blows, the summer ray
Russets the plain, inspiring autumn gleams,
Or winter rises in the blackening east,
Be my tongue mute, may fancy paint no more,
And, dead to joy, forget my heart to beat.

INDE X.

A.

ADANSON, M. account of swal-
lows seen on a ship near the
coast of Senegal, ii. 253.
Addison, Mr. his theory of in-
stinct, ii. 273. note.
Adventurer, lines on sleep from,
i. 196. note.
Adversity, uses of, i. 7.
Etna, poetical description of, ii.
139. Various eruptions of,
149. Conjectures on the great
antiquity of its strata, 151.
These refuted, 152, 153.
Affection, instinct of, in the brute
creation, ii. 301.
Africa, migration of swallows to,
ii. 249.

Me-

Air, divine wisdom and goodness
in the wonders of, i. 126. His-
torical account of the disco-
veries in aërology, 127.
In-
flammable or fire damp, 131.
and note.
Recent discoveries
respecting the air, 135.
chanical properties and effects
of, 138. Instrumental in the
growth of vegetables, 145. Pe-
culiar benefits of, to birds and
fish, 147. Poetical enumera-
tions of its advantages, 148.
Influence of, on vegetation,
149. Various experiments on,
150-156. Purified by plants,
158. Passes through the leaves
of plants, ii. 211.
Akenside quoted, i. 88, 93, 195;
ii. 218, 223, 365.

Alexander the Great, saying of,
i. 198.

Alpine Marmot, habits and eco-
nomy of, ii. 291.

Alps, frightful chasms in, ii. 325.
Fossil shells found in, 333.
Under beds of stone, 334. In-
significance of when compared
with the Audes, 351. Little
more than one half of the height
of the Andes, 360.
American beaver described, ii.
282. Their association, a mo-
del of a perfect republic, 301.
American seas, picturesque ap-

pearance of their beds, ii, 204.
Anatomy of flowers, i. 259. Of
the eye, ii. 69.

Andes, chasms in these mountains,
ii. 325. Account of a journey
to, 356-360.
Angels, their capacities and pow-

ers, why not granted to man,
ii. 217.
Animalcules, various kinds of, i.
318. Lines on, 319. Micro-
scopical, account of, 321. Struc-
ture and economy of, 322, 323.
Animals, man the chief link in the

chain of, ii. 217. Gradations
in the scale of, ib. 218, 220.
Various migrations of, 263-
271. Wonderful instinct of,
272-280. Of the beaver in
particular, 281. On the ha-
bitations of, in general, 290. Of
the wonderful artifices of, 309.
R 5

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