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fometimes Eclipfes seem to deprive the world of it totally; yet it breaks forth again, and gives Joy and beauty. It is the means of the knowledge of many things, yet is very little known itself. It not only renders the world vifible, but also enlivens it, and promotes the vegetation of poifon, as well as wholefome food,

Is not all this equally true of revelation and material light? They who cenfure the former, have the fame reasons to traduce the latter; and whatever objections are raised to the bible in the spiritual world, there are fimilar objections to the volume of nature in the visible world.

The infidel who extols the praise of natural knowledge, in order to depreciate the revealed, fbould also prefer the light of a flint ftruck out with fteel, to the fun; and fleeping always in the day, fhould walk by torch-light in the night: If he fhould by chance awaken in the day, his employment fhould be to examine the folar light and carp at it, What a profusion of wafte is here, when a candle will ferve as well? How deceiving this light must be, that paffes through fo many mediums, which, bend its course, and has fo many millions of miles to travel before it reaches us? After all, it can not drefs human food; and the culinary fire, which does this, can also warm the human body better.j

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He should also fay, that there were many minute objects he could not fee at all, and that distant objects he faw very imperfectly; yet being aided by glaffes, and thereby made acquainted with many fecrets in nature, he should break them, and attribute all his knowledge, to nocturnal lucubrations; or infift upon it, that the fun fhould have been made fitter to inform the fight; or that the eye should have been fo framed, as to take in more natural objects with less confusion.

For he faid before of the Bible; that there was no occafion for it; and that if there was, it was

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fo corrupted with copying, during the course of fome thousands of years, that there was no dependance upon it; that its languages were various and intricate: And that the natural reafon of man difcovered every truth, which human nature required the knowledge of.

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But this fool fhould alfo confider, that the fire of the earth, which, with human art became fo useful, was itself owing in a great measure to the folar influence, whofe rays it is daily imbibing; and that the boafted light of nature was originally divine revelation, and the improvement of it (if it has not rather fallen fhort of the first knowledge) owing to the Bible, even in those who deny the divinity of revelation.

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ET us now confider the ANALOGIES be tween the great law of Spiritual Beings, and the general law of Material Things, between the divine influence upon fpirit, by G RACE; and the di vine influence upon matter, by ATTRACTION,

That whereby the order of material things is preferved is Attraction, which in respect of the tendency of matter to a common centre, is called Gravitation. And that which keeps all spiritual beings in one unlimited fociety, is Benevolence, or CHARITY, which as ultimately tending to the fupreme being, is divine love.

All matter, although in its nature inert, is in motion, nor is there any fuch thing as abfolute reft. The Analogy of nature fhould incline us to believe that the fpiritual part of man, which is in its nature active, is always thinking; although there is not always a confcioufnefs of it, any more than a fense always of the motion of matter.

Every particle of matter attracts all other particles of matter, fo does every good man love the whole race of men.

This is largely difcuffed by the Author in another place.

As the attraction of a particle of matter in this part of the terreftrial Globe is inconfiderable (though in nature it be something) to a particle of matter in China or Peru: So is the love of an inhabitant of this land inconfiderable (though it be something) to an inhabitant of those countries.

As a particle of matter of our Hemisphere, trans ferred to a particle in thofe places mentioned, fhall, if brought to continuity, adhere by a very strong attraction: So fhall an inhabitant of this land, brought into fociety with an inhabitant of those places, cleave to him with an extraordinary degree of benevolence.

Attraction of cohesion is exceedingly ftronger than attraction of gravitation. When a ftone is held in the hand, the parts which are not actually grafped, are kept from falling by their firm adhefion to thofe which are grasped: Yet thofe parts are not void of the principle of gravitation, but the ftronger principle prevails over this: So love of one's Nation, and family affection are much ftronger than general benevolence. When a good man exerts himself in any extraordinary act for the benefit of his country or family, he is not then void of a more general benevolence to the human species: But the stronger principles of patriotifm and domestic love, prevail over the weaker principle of the love of mankind.

But although this be true both of Matter and Men, in the most obvious and common Phænome. na of the material and civil World.. Yet upon a clofer view it is plain, that the great Laws of the universe fuch as GRAVITY, and CHARITY, certainly prevail in great inftances over the laws of the individuals, and fmaller communities of matter and men. And therefore, although a fhort and small beam, fastened only by one end in a wall, fhall remain horizontal, by the law of cohefion, which in that intance is ftronger: Yet increase the length and

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breadth of a beam in an equal proportion, and in the same situation it fhall break, by the prevalent law of Gravity. Do not ftupendous maffes of matter often tumble from ragged precipices, upon this principle?

So alfo the planets and comets move round their Suns, and though thrown off by a projectile force, are retained by gravity, fo as in every revolution to approach nearer: And in time perhaps may be quite abforbed; the general law of the univerfe prevailing over all laws of finaller communities and in dividuals.

In like manner in the civil ftate of things, Benevo lence or Charity extending to the human fpecies prevails over all lefs extended principles of affection, towards civil coinmunities and individuals: And alfo analogous to the prevalent law of gravity, although human nature feems to be moved by vio lent appetites and inftincts into a kind of moral ex centricity and purfuit of worldly objects yet it is drawn back to God, the attractive centre of Love, to whom every good man makes daily approaches, and with whom he fhall at last be united.

And inafmuch as all love to the divine being in this world must be expreft by acts of Love towards

* See Borelli.

196 The force of Gravity upon the Comets is likely to produce this effect fooner than in the planets; confidering their great number and their great diftance from the Sun in their Aphelia, where their actions upon each other must have fome effect to difturb their Motion. The refiftance which they meet with in the atmosphere of the Sun, when they defcend into the lower parts of their Orbits, will also affect them. By the retardation of their motion in these lower parts, their gravity will be inabled to bring them nearer the Sun, in every revolution, till at length they fall into him, and fupply fewel to that immenfe body of Fire. The Commet of 1680 paffed at a diftance from the furface of the Sun, no greater than the 6th part of his Diameter; it will approach ftill nearer in the next Revolution, and fall into his body, at length. The fixed Stars may receive fupplies in the fame manner, by Comets falling into them. Maclaurin on Newr

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our rational fellow creatures: The moft extenfive charity always influences a mind, fufficiently inftructed, and heroically practifed in fubduing ex centric affections. "

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All things are endued with an appetite to two kinds of goods the one, as a thing is a whole in itfelf; the other, as it is a part of fome greater whole; and this latter is more worthy and more powerful than the other, as it tends to the conservation of a more ample form. The firft may be called individual or selfgood, and the latter good of Communion. Iron by a particular property moves to the load-ftone; but if the iron be heavy it drops its affection to the load-ftone and tends to the earth which is the proper region of fuch ponderous bodies. Again, the dense and heavy bodies tend to the earth, yet rather than nature will fuffer a feparation in the continuity of things, and leave a vacuum, as they speak, these heavy bodies will be carried upwards, and forego their affection to the earth, to perform their office to the world. And thus it generally happens, that the conservation of the more general form regulates the leffer appetites. But this prerogative of the good of communion is more particularly impreffed upon man, if he be not degenerate, according to that remarkable faying of Pompey, who being governour of the citypurveyance, at a time of famine in Rome, and intreated by his friends not to venture to fea, whilst a violent storm was impending, anfwered, my going is necessary, but not my life. So that the defire of life, which is greateft in the individual, did not with him out-weigh his affection and fidelity to the state. But no philofophy, fect, religion, law or difcipline, in any age, has fo highly exalted the good of communion, and fo far depreffed the good of individuals as the chriftian faith. Whence it may plainly appear that one and the fame God gave thofe laws of nature to the creatures, and the christian law fo men. And hence we read that fome of the elect and holy men, in an exstasy of charity, and impatient defire of the good of Communion rather wished their names blotted out of the book of life, than that their brethren fhould mifs of falvation. Francis Bacon. Inftaur. Ethics.

He fays alfo in his new machine.

The canons or rules of predominances fhould be collected As for example, that the more common the good, which is defir ed, the ftronger the motion; and that the motion of connection which regards the communion of the universe, is stronger than the motion of gravity, which regards the communion of dense bodies. Again that the appetites of a private good do not generally prevail against the appetites of a more public good, unless in fma quantities, and it were to be wished this also obtained in civil af fairs.

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