Vouchsafes us by detail the narrative of each day's proceedings; and in the two first chapters of Genesis is pleased to give nobler hints of natural philosophy than men are yet perhaps aware of." He adds, "God has made some knowledge of his created book both conducive to the belief, and necessary to the understanding of his written one.". "God was pleased to consider MAN SO much more than the creatures made for him, that he made the sun itself at one time to stand still, and at another time to go back, &c."-Boyle's Second Essay Nat. Phil.

Both of these celebrated men diligently contemplated the works of God, and were therefore, it may reasonably be presumed, fully as competent to form a true judgment of the system of the world as those Newtonian mechanists and fluxionists who, shut up in their studies, consume their days in applying their master's method, without examining the soundness of his fundamental hypotheses; and brood over his imaginary experiments of cannon balls shot from the tops of mountains;—of hoops and soft balls of clay whirled about spindles; pebbles about millstones, and strings and balls about the finger: all of which were devised to pass off his laws of motion, which both nature and art disown, and therefore contrived only to deceive the credulous and ignorant.

Sir William Temple, in his Essay upon the ancient and modern learning, appears to have held no very high opinion of modern improvements in astronomy; "For," says he, "there is nothing new in astronomy to vie with the ancients, unless it be the Copernican system; nor in physic, unless Harvey's circulation of the blood. But whether either of these be modern discoveries, or derived from old fountains. is disputed: nay, it is so whether

they are true or no: for though reason may seem to favour them more than the contrary opinion, yet sense can very hardly allow them; and to satisfy mankind both these must concur. But even admitting," he adds, "that the discoveries were true, they have made no change in the conclusions" (the useful conclusions)" of astronomy, nor in the practice of physic, and so have been of little use to the world, though perhaps of much honor to the authors." These observations were published, I believe, more than twenty years after the Principia of Newton appeared.

To the foregoing, I may add an observation of that wise and benevolent judge, Sir Matthew Hale. In his book of A true Origination of Mankind and the Universe, he says, "I shall not here contend much touching the system of the universe; whether the earth be the centre thereof, or the sun; whether it consist of so many several systems, or vortices; whether every fixed star hath its vortex, and the sun the centre of the planetary vortex, only thus much I shall say, 1. That THIS DIVINE hypothesis delivered to us by the hand of Moses seems wholly to contradict the supposition of solid orbs, and strongly concludes that the heavenly bodies are moved in liquid æther. 2. It seems rather to countenance that system of the universe that supposeth the earth to be the common centre thereof, than the imaginary hypotheses of Copernicus, Galileus, Kepler, and Descartes. 3. That it utterly contradicts the hypotheses of Aristotle and Ocellus and the Pythagoreans touching the eternity of the world, or of the heavens; and likewise the fiction of Democritus and Epicurus of the casual coalition of the universe by the motion or interfering of atoms." To which last fiction adhered, and so his

Sir Isaac Newton appears to have

followers will continue as long as Greek fiction shall be

preferred before divine information. But I do not quote the opinions of these accomplished men for the purpose of guiding others: my object is to show, that those who from habits of reflection, advantages of education, and extensive experience, were most competent to form a correct judgment, attached little or no value to what is now so generally held up as the most sublime of human inventions, and the most important of human pursuits. But let every one seriously reflect, and then candidly adopt that belief which he finds most consonant to the cool dictates of his own judgment.

H

CHAPTER III.

ENUMERATION OF ASTRONOMICAL SYSTEMS;-NEWTONIAN DOCTRINE OF WORLDS FORMING THEMSELVES OUT OF SOLAR VAPOUR AND SEDIMENTS OF LIGHT; -OF HELL, ACCORDING TO THE BELIEF OF SOME OF NEWTON'S FOLLOWERS, BEING PLACED IN THE SUN, AND THE DESTRUCTION, OR RENOVATION, OF WORLDS BY FALLING INTO IT;-OF THE EARTH BEING FORMED OUT OF THE ATMOSPHERE OF A COMET ACCORDING TO WHISTON;-OF AN EARTH AND A HEAVEN WITH ITS LUMINARIES WITHIN OUR EARTH, ACCORDING TO DR. HALLEY; AND OF PLANETS, ACCORDING TO LA PLACE, FORMING THEMSELVES OUT OF DENSE SOLAR ATMOSPHERES.

ASTRONOMERS have, under various pretences, imagined and promulgated several Systems of the Universe; of which may be mentioned, firstly, the first Pythagorean, said to have been borrowed from the Chaldeans, and afterwards embraced by Aristotle, Ptolemy and Proclus. Secondly, the Platonic, or Porphyrian System. Thirdly,. the Egyptian System, adopted by Vitruvius, Macrobius, Capella and some other distinguished authors. Fourthly, the Tychonic; and, fifthly, the Semi-Tychonic, or the System of Ricciolus. But as, in these several schemes, the earth is considered as occupying the centre of the universe, it is of no great consequence to notice here the points on which their inventors appear to have disagreed. I therefore proceed, sixthly, to

notice that which is termed the second Pythagorean system, which is conceived upon a plan nearly the reverse of all the rest. I say the second Pythagorean System; for, it appears by the Commentaries of Hierocles on the golden verses of Pythagoras, and is confirmed by Pliny, that he at one time considered the earth to be placed in the centre.

But that philosopher, either not satisfied with the simplicity of the system which he had learned during his travels through the East, or being desirous of flattering the prejudices of his countrymen, who contemplated the sun as their supreme God;* he, in order to gain their applause, or to excite their admiration by novelty, (for Pliny says he was a man of a warm, and lively imagination,) assured them, that the object of their adoration rested in the centre of the universe; and that the planets-the other subordinate deities, which they were taught to believe had emanated from him,-were in motion about him. There were some, it appears, however, amongst the learned men who opposed the novelty, esteeming it prophane; particularly the philosopher Cleanthes who, according to history, was of opinion, that Aristarchus, who had adopted it, ought to have been tried by the Greeks for irreligion. This opposition probably had the effect of giving it currency for a time. But as soon as the mental effervescence, created by the novelty of the doctrine, cooled and subsided, and deliberate reason resumed the judgment seat; the ponderous globe of earth was again, by general agreement, allowed to fill its ancient central situation;

* So Josephus says the Athenians believed. And it is mentioned by Diogenes Laertius, that because poor Anaxagoras maintained an opinion that the sun was a burning plate he was tried for his life for the impiety.