so long preserved the vast fabric steady upon its foundations, as if to endure for ever, and yet sustaining a concatenation of motions varied as they are wonderful? Who else could have fashioned a body too brilliant for mortal eyes to behold, whose splendour is ever undiminished, and fix it at such an awful elevation in the heavens as at once to command the universe, and receive the homage of numerous worlds, which, ever circling round, derive their radiance from this vast luminary of day?

Could any thing short of infinite power impart motion to the earth, the moon, and the stars; prescribe limits to their course, and urge their revolutions in endless succession?

Are we desirous of considering the presence of Divine power in the smallest objects, we shall find it equally manifest, incomprehensible, and wonderful, as in the grandest and most sublime. Examine the very dust that strews the earth; mingled with it are myriads of insects, thousands of them united would not make up the bulk of a single grain of sand; yet each of these has its limbs, organs, and senses; each has its instincts and sensations; and to each the love of life is dear, and the desire of preserving it ardent. View the grass of the fields, the blossoms of the trees; study well their structure, origin, and use, and you will every where, throughout the vast extent of nature, discover wonders that are worthy of their heavenly Author, and capable of calling forth all the gratitude and veneration which a virtuous and noble mind can feel for a Being whose attributes fill the universe with glory.

OCTOBER XXVIII.

Laws of Inertia.

INERTIA is that power of resistance by which all bodies have a tendency to remain in the state in which they are. When a body is at rest it remains so, till some force is applied great enough to overcome its resistance; and when that is accomplished, it continues in a state of motion, from the same law of inertia which operated when it was at rest; and

it now resists as forcibly those bodies which would retard its progress, as it before resisted those which impelled it to move. By this means bodies move with regularity, and the laws of motion and percussion may be exactly determined.

If the heavenly bodies did not possess this power of resistance, they could not move with so much order and regularity, and they would always require a new moving power to preserve them in motion. From this it is evident that the universe is arranged and governed by Divine Wisdom. The removal of any part of this immense edifice would derange the whole. Of what use to us would be the regular structure of plants and of animals, with the admirable arrangement of the heavenly spheres, if none of these bodies were susceptible of motion? How simple is this law, and how wonderful are its effects! Such always are the works of God: the principles are beautifully simple, and the whole edifice is as admirable.

In contemplating the works of God, every spectator is not alike able to discover the fundamental laws upon which most of the phenomena depend; and consequently, they are not equally able to perceive and acknowledge the wisdom which directs them. This knowledge is reserved for the attainment of the philosopher, whose labours are thus amply repaid by the pure and inexhaustible delight which they procure.

There seems to be a certain degree of inertia inherent in the mind, somewhat similar to that which obtains in matter. Those bodies that constantly move in the same manner, and towards the same points, acquire a tendency to persist in the same direction; and a human mind has a similar propensity for those actions which we have often repeated in the same manner. Hence the difficulty of overcoming acquired habits. We may make a most excellent use of this propensity of mind, by directing it to strengthen our habits of virtue. For this purpose we have only to repeat very often the same good actions, till we are as much accustomed to deeds of virtue, as we were before to those of vice. This is the more important, because without virtue we can never retain a true and lasting tranquillity.

Whence proceed those errors which we often commit in this respect? Why do we follow with unceasing perseverance, imaginary good, which in the end leads to destruction? Our hearts, seduced by that pride which is natural to them; and our minds, dazzled by the deceitful lustre of worldly objects, cause very reluctantly to approach the paths of virtue. But let not the violence which we thus do to our inclinations and passions discourage us.. The practisers of vice, themselves, are often obliged to restrain themselves in their mad career, and resist the impetuosity of their passions, in order to procure some temporal advantage, or to shun some particular evil; and this violence which they thus do themselves, in resisting their sensual desires and gratifications, must be very painful and severe to men corrupted by effeminacy and enervated by dissipation. On the contrary, what sweet emotions cheer the heart when the soul retains her command over the senses, and preserves them in that subordination which is consistent with the dignity of beings endowed with reason! By frequently exercising this command we at length obtain that happy state, where the soul, elevated above the turbulent region of the passions, looks down with compassion upon the deluded votaries of vice, and pities the miserable victims devoted to her chains.

OCTOBER XXIX.

Wants of Men.

No creature upon the earth has so many wants as man. He comes into the world, naked, destitute, and ignorant. Nature has not endued him with that industry and instinct which most of the brute creation enjoy as soon as born; she has only given him the capability of acquiring reason and knowledge. In some respects, therefore, the animals may seem to be more favoured. They are extremely happy, in having no need of clothes, instruments, and those conveniences so necessary to man; and in not being obliged to exercise that variety of arts and occupations, without which we

cannot procure what our necessities demand. They possess at their birth, clothing, weapons, and every thing they require; or, if they require any thing more, they can easily procure it by means of their instinct, which they have only to follow blindly. If they want habitations, they know instinctively how to construct them. Do they require beds, covering, or clothes, they possess the art of spinning or weaving them: and they can change their old garments for new. If they have enemies, they are provided with natural arms for their defence; and are they ill or wounded, they know how to find remedies; whilst we, who are so much superior to all other animals, have more wants, and fewer means of satisfying them.

Perhaps it will be asked, why the Creator has thus given man less natural advantages than he has to brutes? and such a question undoubtedly is excusable, if not expressed from motives of dissatisfaction or murmuring. The Divine wisdom is equally manifested in this, as in all other things. In subjecting man to more wants, God designed that he should continually exercise that ratiocinative faculty which is given him for his happiness, and to supply the place of all the resources of the animals. And because we are destitute of the instincts which they enjoy, and that we have so many necessities to answer, we are obliged to have recourse to our reason to acquire a knowledge of the world, and of our own particular nature; to be diligent, active, and laborious, to secure ourselves from poverty, pain, and vexation, and to render our lives peaceable and happy. The faculty of reason also enables us to restrain our unruly passions, and preserve our minds free from the delusive influence of pleasures which might be fatal in their consequences. A few instances will suffice to illustrate this. If we could obtain without any labour, fruits, and the necessary supply of food, and other articles which we daily want, we should become idle and slothful, and pass our days in uninterrupted indolence; all the faculties of the soul, for want of exertion, would become enfeebled and enervated; the links that hold society together

would be broken, because we should no longer depend upon one another and children would have no occasion to apply to their parents for support and subsistence. The whole human race must then relapse into its former barbarism; and in a state of nature, each individual, like the brutes, would only live for himself; subordination could not exist, and all mutual obligations and good offices must cease. It is therefore to our wants that we owe the development of our faculties, and the prerogatives of humanity. They awaken the energies of our minds, give them activity and industry, and render our lives more pleasant and happy than those of other animals. Our yery necessities, then, have rendered us sociable, rational, and orderly in our manners; and have led us to the invention of many useful arts and sciences. In general, an active and laborious life is advantageous and necessary to man. If his faculties and powers are not exercised, they become useless; he gradually gets into a state of stupidity, ignorance, and gross sensuality, with all their concomitant vices; whilst mental and bodily exertions give an agreeable activity to the whole machine, and procure as much satisfaction and delight, as it stimulates to industry, to science, and to knowledge.

Natural wants, then, were necessary to render us rational, wise, social, virtuous, and happy. If, after having been nourished with our mother's milk, we had no further occasion for assistance or instruction, we should only live for ourselves, learn no language, nor make any use of our reason: stupified, and in the profoundest ignorance both of ourselves and of all other beings, we should neither know arts nor sciences, nor ever experience that elevation of soul which arises from cultivating its powers, nor those sweet emotions of the heart which those only feel who are concerned for the good of others. Whereas, in the present constitution of things, the wants of children, and their total helplessness when they first draw breath, oblige their parents to take care of them out of tenderness and compassion; whilst the children, on their part, become strongly attached to their parents by rea