this precious time? Minutes and seconds are trifles in our eyes, which do not deserve our attention; yet nothing is more certain than that he who makes light of minutes will be equally prodigal of his hours. Are we even more economical of longer periods? If from all the days that are allotted us we deduct those which have been entirely lost with respect to our immortal souls, how little of real and effective life will remain !

How distressing and humiliating is the reflection, that of the hundreds and thousands of hours which divine goodness has intrusted us with, to devote to the great and eternal interest of our souls, so many have been shamefully consumed in separating ourselves from God, the best and tenderest of Fathers! How many years are passed in idleness and in vice, in gratifying our passions and injuring our neighbours! How inconceivably quick the few moments that yet remain fly away! Hour after hour imperceptibly glide along, and are irrecoverably lost; and an hour is much to a man who can so easily calculate by hours the period of his real and effective life.

Teach us, O Lord, so to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom; and that henceforth we may make a proper use of that time which thou mayest still condescend to grant us; that so we may gain a portion of grace through Christ, and assure unto ourselves a glorious and happy eternity.

OCTOBER XXVI.

THE END OF SUMMER.

The last rays of the summer sun now fall feebly on the earth; every thing is changed: that country which so lately bloomed in verdant beauty and blushing charms is becoming poor, withered, and barren. We no longer see the trees rich in blossom, nor the spring gay with verdure; the magnificence of summer, displayed in a thousand variations of colours, whose richness is relieved by the beautiful green of the meadows and waving groves, is no more: the purple view of the vine has faded, and the gilded ears no longer ornament the fields. The last leaves of the trees are falling; the pines, the elms, and the oaks, bend beneath the blasts of the fierce north wind; and the fields, which have lavished upon us so many gifts, are at length exhausted.

The sad changes must necessarily diminish our pleasures. When the earth has lost her verdure, gayety, and beauty; when the fields are swampy, and gloominess reigns, man is deprived of many of those delights that he receives through the medium of sight. When the earth is thus destitute, nothing is seen around but a rugged and uneven surface. The songs of the birds no longer rejoice our ears, and there is nothing that recalls to our minds that universal delight which we so lately shared with all animated beings. The melody of the

birds yields to the murmuring of waters and the howling of the winds. The fragrance of the fields is gone, and the sense of feeling is pained by the impression of cold and humid air.

But in the midst of these gloomy prospects we have reason to acknowledge how faithfully nature fulfils the eternal law prescribed to her, of being useful at all times and seasons of the year. Though, at the approach of winter, the country is desolate, and stripped of its most beautiful ornaments, it still presents to a properly organized mind the image of happiness. We may say with gratitude, here we have seen the corn grow, and these dry fields clothed with abundant harvests; and though the orchards and gardens are now deserted, the remembrance of the presents which we have received from them inspires us with joy, though we are exposed to the influence of the north wind. The fruit-trees have shed their leaves, the grass of the meadows is withered, dark clouds gather in the sky, the rain falls in heavy showers, the roads are impaired, and walking is impracticable. The man who has no resources in himself murmurs at this change, but the philosopher contemplates it with satisfaction. The dry leaves and withered grass, moistened by the autumnal rain, form a rich manure to fertilize the land. This consideration, and the sweet expectation of spring, naturally ought to excite our gratitude for the tender cares of our Creator, and inspire us with a perfect confidence in him. Whilst the earth has lost its beauty and external charms, and is exposed to the murmurs of those it has nourished and delighted, it has commenced its labours anew, and is busily employed in secret working for the future good of the creation.

OCTOBER XXVII.

MAGNIFICENCE OF GOD DISPLAYED IN THE CREATION.

'God has manifested himself in the creation as a being infinitely wise.' There is no creature, however useless it may appear, which has not its particular destination; and all are formed in that way which is best adapted to answer the purposes of their existence. This is at least the case with all those with which we are acquainted, and by analogy we may conclude it is the same with those that we do not know. If we begin with the sun, and descend to the smallest plant, we shall be obliged to acknowledge that, to be properly adapted to the end for which they are designed, these creatures could not be formed otherwise; and that for the purpose they are to answer they have no defect. The least parts of every creature are evidently appropriate to its destination; they accomplish the functions prescribed to them by nature; and were any of its parts to be taken away, the whole animal would be imperfect, and unable to fulfil the end of its existence. How wonderful is that whole which results from the connexion and relation which all creatures have with each other! Each

is in its place, each has its proper functions, and these are essential to the perfection of the whole; neither could any of them be wanting, or imperfect, without more or less disorder resulting.

If, then, we represent to ourselves the Being who has formed this innumerable multitude of creatures, animate and inanimate; who has not only designed each of them to fill up certain places in the creation, but who has also disposed and arranged all their parts in a manner the best adapted to their ends, without any thing superfluous, without any thing defective; who, by the inclination of an immense number of individuals, has altogether formed a whole, where the most perfect harmony reigns, shall we not be struck with admiration, and pronounce with reverential awe, 'O the depth of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!'.

'God has manifested himself in the creation as a being infinitely wise.' He has every where diffused life and motion. How numerous are the animated beings his beneficent hand has produced! From the beginning of the world man has always laboured to become acquainted with the different beings that inhabit the earth, and to this day he continues to discover new species which were before unknown. Life is a blessing, even to the meanest worm that crawls on the earth what pleasure, then, must the Almighty derive from doing good, since he has bestowed upon so many creatures the felicity of existence. But of what use would life be, if it was destroyed as soon as created? The Creator has taken care that every creature shall live long enough to fulfil the end of its creation. He has assigned to each the place it is to inhabit, and every individual is provided, immediately upon its entering the world, with all that is necessary to the preservation of its life. Many animals bring with them into the world the instinct and degree of industry necessary to enable them to obtain nourishment; others, as man, are at first supported and instructed by their parents; and the earth's fertility for the benefit of her inhabitants is inexhaustible! Nearly six thousand years have elapsed since she began to support the many millions of beings that live upon her productions; and though the world should endure twice six thousand years longer, it cannot be doubted that a sufficient supply of nutriment would still continue to be afforded to the generations yet

to come.

With life, how many pleasures and delightful sensations has not the Creator granted to all animated beings, and especially to man? How magnificently he has adorned and beautified the world he has destined for our temporary habitation! what enjoyments he permits us to taste in social life! what tender, fond, and endearing ties! what affection and sweet emotions cheer our hearts! And can ingratitude to a Being thus merciful and beneficent ever debase the minds of men who are endowed with reason, and the faculty of knowing and loving the great Author of their existence? Forbid it, heaven; and let us acknowledge in joyful accents that the earth is full of the blessings of God, who manifests himself in the creation as a being of all power.

This power, infinite as the universe, boundless as the heavens, plainly manifested in every creature, is more particularly perceptible in the extremes, in the greatest objects of nature, and in the least. What but an infinitely powerful Being, surpassing all human conception, could have formed the firmament, that immense extent, that boundless space in which such myriads of spheres continually, without interruption, roll their vast orbs? Who but himself could have 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 which 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 gloty.

OCTOBER XXVIII.

LAWS OF INERTIA.

bodies have a tenWhen a body is at

Inertia is that power of resistance by which all dency to remain in the state in which they are. 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 exhausted 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 before were to those of vice. This is the more important, because without virtue we can never retain a true and lasting tranquillity.

Whence proceeds 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 us 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 attain 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.

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