FEBRUARY IV.

Consideration of the Stars.

To every person who delights to reflect on the works of God, the firmament of heaven, where the resplendent stars roll their vast orbs, opens a noble field for observation. The harmony, the grandeur, the multitude, and the brilliancy of these celestial spheres, offer a most enrapturing spectacle to him who loves silently to contemplate the works of nature. The appearance of the stars alone, supposing even that we had no knowledge of their nature and design, would be sufficient to fill the soul with joy and with admiration; for where can we see any object so striking and magnificent as the expanse of æther, resplendent with the varied luminaries, which, in their several degrees of magnitude and brightness, traverse the heavens in cloudless majesty? But can we suppose that an infinitely wise Being has adorned the celestial canopy with these sublime objects merely as a beautiful spectacle or picture? Would he have formed those suns merely that the inhabitants of this earth might have the pleasure of seeing in the firmament a number of luminous points, of whose nature and destination they know little, and which are often not to be seen at all? No one who takes a broad survey of nature, and observes the wonderful harmony and agreement between all her works and their proposed end, can suffer such an idea to enter his mind. We cannot doubt but God, when he ordained the stars to shine, had a much more exalted view than to procure for us an agreeable sight. Though we cannot precisely determine all the particular ends which they may serve, it will not be difficult to acknowledge that one of their uses is the advantage as well as ornament of this world, of which the following observations will doubtless convince us.

Amongst those stars which are most easily distinguished there are some constantly observed in the same part of the heavens, and which we always see immediately over our heads. These are certain guides to those who travel during the obscurity of night, by sea as well as by land. To the mariner they point out his course, and enable him to reach the place of his destination. Other stars vary their aspects; and though they always preserve the same situation with regard to one another, they daily, with respect to us, change the order of their rising and setting; and their variations, which are performed in regular order, are to us of great utility: they serve to measure time and to regulate it by fixed laws. The constant and stated revolutions of the stars accurately determine the end and the return of the seasons. By these means the labourer knows precisely when to trust his seeds to the earth, and in what order to conduct the cultivation of the fields.

But whatever benefit the stars in these respects may contribute to the earth, we ought not to presume that is the only or the principal end which God has proposed in the creation of these wonderful bodies. Is it possible to believe that the wise Creator has filled the immense expanse of æther with millions of worlds and of suns, merely that a few individuals of this earth may be enabled to measure time and ascertain the return of the seasons? Doubtless these numerous globes are formed for much nobler purposes, and each one has its particular destination. All these stars being so many suns, with the power of communicating light, heat, and animation to other spheres, is it probable that God should have endowed them with this power in vain? Would he have created suns which can shoot their rays far as the earth, unless he had also created other worlds to enjoy their benign influence? Would God, who has peopled with so many living creatures this earth, which is but as a point in the heavens, have fixed in the regions of

space so many vast orbs, desert and uninhabited, fruitlessly to roll their course? Certainly not. We have every reason to believe that each of the fixed stars which we see over our heads by thousands, one above another, and all around, far as the eye can penetrate, and yet farther, to distances immeasurable by our limited faculties, are suns equally resplendent as that which beams on our horizon, the life of our system; have each worlds revolving round their centre, and receiving the blessings of their influence. We may also suppose that these spheres serve as abodes to different orders and species of living creatures, all rejoicing in the power and celebrating the magnificence of God. Though these are only conjectures, formed from the little we know of the wonders of nature, yet they are conjectures which fill the mind with awe and reverence, open to it a vast and boundless field of thought, do away the contracted and partial notions we may entertain of ourselves, and tend to soften and to ameliorate our hearts.

FEBRUARY V.

Curious Formation of the Eye.

THE eye infinitely surpasses all the works of human industry. Its structure is the most wonderful thing the understanding of man can become acquainted with the most skilful artist cannot invent any machine of this kind which is not infinitely inferior to the eye; whatever ability, industry, and attention he may devote to it, he will not be able to produce a work that does not abound with the imperfections incident to the works of men. It is true we cannot become perfectly acquainted with all the art which Divine Wisdom has displayed in the structure of this beautiful organ; but the little that we do know

*

suffices to convince us of the admirable intelligence, goodness, and power of the Creator.

In the first place, the disposition of the exterior parts of the eye is excellent. How admirably it is defended! Placed in durable orbits of bone, at a certain depth in the skull, the globe of the eye cannot easily suffer any injury. The over-arching eyebrows contribute much to its beauty and preservation; and the eyelids more immediately shelter it from the glare of light, and other things which might be prejudicial: inserted in these are the eyelashes, which also much contribute to the above effect, and also prevent small particles of dust and other substances striking against the eye *.

The internal structure is still more admirable. The globe of the eye is composed of tunics, humours, muscles, and vessels: the first coat is called the cornea, or exterior membrane, which is transparent anteriorly, and opake posteriorly; next the choroid, which is extremely vascular; then the uvea, with the iris, which, being of various colours, gives the appearance of differently coloured eyes, and being perforated, with the power of contraction and dilatation, forms the pupil and, lastly, the retina, which is a fine expansion of the optic nerve, and upon it the impressions of objects are made. The humours are, first, the aqueous, lying in the fore part of the globe, immediately under the cornea; it is thin, liquid, and transparent: secondly, the crystalline, which lies next to the aqueous, behind the uvea, opposite to the pu

* Besides these, amongst the external parts are enumerated the lachrymal gland, which secretes the tears; the lachrymal caruncle, a small fleshy substance at the inner angle of the eye; the puncta lachrymalia, two small openings on the nasal extremity of each eyelash; the lachrymal duct, formed by the union of the ducts leading from the puncta lachrymalia, and conveying the tears into the nose; the lachrymal sac, a dilatation of the lachrymal canal.—E.

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pil; it is the least of the humours, of greater solidity, and on both sides convex: the third is the vitreous, resembling the white of an egg; it fills all the hind part of the cavity of the globe, and gives the spherical figure to the eye. The muscles of the eye are six, and by the excellence of their arrangement it is enabled to move in all directions. Vision is performed by the rays of light falling on the pellucid and convex cornea of the eye, by the density and convexity of which they are united into a focus, which passes the aqueous humour and pupil of the eye to be more condensed by the crystalline lens. The rays of light thus concentrated penetrate the vitreous humour, and stimulate the retina, upon which the images of objects, painted in an inverse direction, are represented to the mind through the medium of the optic nerves.

Thus we have abundant cause to thank the God of mercy who has so exquisitely formed the eye, and to acknowledge the wisdom, power, and admirable skill displayed in its structure and wonderful organisation. May we never forget the benefits we have received, nor the blessings we enjoy, but ever look up to the Author of our being with gratitude! When we see the various woes and miseries which afflict many of our fellow-creatures, let not our eyes refuse the tear of sympathy, nor our hearts be shut against compassion. May tears of joy flow from every eye, when we receive the renewed proofs of God's goodness and love; and let us rejoice when we are enabled to soothe the anguish of our afflicted brethren, or wipe the tear from the poor and the disconsolate. Thus shall we fulfil the design of our Maker, and enjoy the approbation of our God.