Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

The wealth of the whole state consists in the riches of each citizen; and this numerous republic forms but one family, in which is no personal interest, no avarice, and no rapine: here no troop of bees unites to do violence to, or fight against the interests of, each other; no bee is ever found living in luxury and superfluity, whilst another is destitute of the necessaries of life; nor are they anxious to acquire more honey than will suffice for their winter's provision.

Insignificant as these insects may appear, we may learn from them those virtues upon which depend the repose and the happiness of our lives. In whatever state or condition we may be placed, it is necessary for us to act in concert with our fellow-creatures, and to cultivate the virtues of patriotism; the society in which we live, christianity, and our own happiness, demand it. Let us cheerfully bear our part of the general burthen, and, if it is necessary, charge ourselves with the burthen of another, who, from ignorance or weakness, is unable to support it. And when our duty, our conscience, and our religion, require us to make sacrifices for our brethren, let us never regard it as a loss; but rather consider it as an honour that we have been capable of labouring with more zeal and success than others. Let the base principles of selfishness never find a place in our hearts; they who endeavour to enrich themselves at the expense of another, and to appropriate unto themselves alone the treasures of their country, are despicable members of society, who have forfeited their dignity, and sunk beneath the level of brutes. Whenever we are in any degree able to contribute to the general good, let not the uncertainty of being rewarded prevent our exertions; the testimony of a good conscience, and the blessings of eternity, will sufficiently repay us.

It is too true, however, that one of the greatest evils of life is the want of harmony and concord amongst the individuals of the human race. Even in this we may admire the wisdom of God, who notwithstanding the want of union, and the disorders which reign in the world, notwithstanding the universal self-interest which governs men, still supports so

ciety and renders it flourishing. When a careful pilot steers his vessel in safety amidst the shoals and the rocks against which the waves strive to dash him, we admire his skill and experience; so when we see, in spite of the wickedness of men, in the midst of the storms and ebullitions of their pas sions, the dominion of wisdom and the preservation of virtue, we may admire and reverence the eternal wisdom of Him who governs the universe.

www

MAY XXX.

Prodigious Number of Plants upon the Earth.

MORE than twenty thousand different species of plants have been already observed, and new ones are daily discovered. By means of the microscope some have been found where they were least expected. The different varieties of mosses and sponges have been classed among vegetables, and have presented to the observation of the naturalist seeds and flowers before unknown. Freestone is sometimes covered with brown and blackish spots; the mouldy substance which composes them adheres to various other matters, and may be considered as a little garden in vegetation, where the plants, though exceedingly minute, have visible seeds and flowers. When we reflect upon the quantity of moss which covers even the hardest stones, the trunks of trees, and the most barren places; when we consider the quantity of vegetables upon the surface of the earth; the different species of flowers which delight and refresh us; the trees and bushes; add to these the aquatic plants, some of which exceed a hair in fineness; we may be able to form some idea of the multitude of plants in the vegetable kingdom.

All these species grow up and are preserved without detriment to one another, each having a place assigned it which is most suited to its properties. Such is the wisdom displayed in their distribution over the surface of the earth, that there is no part of it wholly destitute, and no part enjoys them in too great abundance. Some plants require the open

field, where, unsheltered by trees, they may receive the sun's rays; others can only exist in water; some grow in the sand; others in marshes and fens, which are frequently covered with water; and some bud on the surface of the earth, whilst others unfold themselves in its bosom.

The different strata which compose the soil of the earth, as sand, clay, chalk, &c. have each their different vegetables; and hence it is that in the vast garden of nature nothing is absolutely sterile; from the finest sand to the flinty rock, from the torrid to the frozen zone, each soil, and climate supports plants peculiar to itself.

Another circumstance highly worthy of attention is, the Creator has so ordered, that, among this immense variety of plants, those which are most proper for food or medicine, either to man or beast, grow in greater abundance than those which are of less utility. Herbs are much more numerous than trees and brambles; grass is in greater abundance than oaks; and cherry-trees more plentiful than apricots: had oaks been more frequent than grass, or trees than herbs and roots, it would have been impossible for animals to subsist. Almighty and merciful God, here also we have to acknowledge the wonders of thy Providence! Thy goodness is every where manifested, and there is no mind so weak that does not comprehend that Thou art all-great, all-powerful, and good to be convinced of this we have only to contemplate the widely extended vegetable kingdom. Wherever we go at this season of the year, we walk on plants and flowers; and as far as we can extend our view we behold fields and meadows, covered with the rich blessings of heaven!

MAY XXXI.

Plurality of Worlds.

PRIDE, ignorance, or self-love, induce some people to believe that our world is the only part of the immense universe which is inhabited; that the sun is only formed to give us his light and heat; and that the moon and stars answer no other pur

pose than to enlighten the gloom of our nights, and serve as guides to the mariner and the traveller. The contemplation of the fixed stars alone is sufficient to refute this absurd opinion. Their brilliancy demonstrates that they shine by their own light; and from their being visible to us, notwithstanding their immense distance, we are justified in supposing them to be much larger than our sun. And is it consonant with divine wisdom, which has not created a single particle of matter in vain, that these immense bodies, each in itself a sun, so numerous and so distant from our earth, should shine with ineffectual light, and not be destined to some great and noble end?

If they were merely intended to serve as nocturnal lights to our world, they could be of no use during the greatest part of the year. The clouded atmosphere which often envelopes

us, and the short nights of summer, which are sufficiently light without the aid of stars, would render them useless; and those stars, of which there are many which we cannot see with the naked eye, because of their vast distance, would exist in vain; and their supposed destination would be much better accomplished by one single star placed nearer to us, than by millions so distantly situated that their rays could not reach us. The same kind of reasoning will hold for whatever use we imagine the stars to be created; whether for the purposes of navigation, or any other use, we shall fall equally short of the truth, and must ultimately be brought to confess that if no creatures beyond our globe profited by their light and heat, or if they themselves were not inhabited by living beings, their creation would be useless, and their existence superfluous: but the Almighty has created nothing that is not pregnant with utility; and if we can discover nothing, however insignificant, on this earth that does not answer some end, how much more must these immense bodies tend to manifest the power and glory of God!

This conclusion will appear still more just if we reflect attentively upon the solar system. We have seen in a former discourse that the moon in many respects resembles our earth;

and from all that we have been able to discover of her, we have reason to believe she contains inhabitants. The analogy between the moon and the planets leads us to suppose they also are inhabited; and, as each fixed star has, according to all appearance, like our sun, its particular planets, so we may reasonably suppose they in some degree resemble the planets in our system; and thus we see around us an innumerable multitude of worlds, each having its peculiar arrangement, laws, productions, and inhabitants.

How infinite are the works of God! How majestic the starry heavens! and how great must be their Creator, whose glory millions of worlds declare, and whose all-intelligent power the myriads which inhabit them, adoring, acknowledge! Let us unite in the heavenly choir, that whilst incense from millions of worlds is ascending unto the God of all power, we alone may not be wanting in the universal song of joy, of praise, and of thanksgiving, to the great God of all, the Father of light and glory. How grandly does the prospect of futurity open upon our souls, when we shall become acquainted with the worlds whose existence we can now barely ascertain, and the least of whose wonders we are unable to comprehend! when we shall be initiated into all the mysteries of heaven, and admitted within the circle of that glory whose radiance emanates from the Creator!

Hymn of Thanksgiving.

CELEBRATE the praises of the Lord, and adore him. Exalt, praise, and sing the marvellous and wonderful works of your Creator, all ye whom he has made capable of enjoying them! For great is his power who has created the heaven and all its hosts, whose beauty and splendour announce the glory of the Parent of light and life; the universe declares it, and the eye is never weary with contemplating that in which it continually discovers new beauties. But the eye alone does not enjoy these pleasures; the beauties of nature speak to the soul, and fill it with rapture.

« AnteriorContinuar »