the distance of 1,000,cco miles from his Centre. Befides thefe moons, Jupiter is furrounded by faint fubitances, called belts, in which fo many changes appear, that philofophers are not agreed either concerning their na ture or ule. Saturn, the next to Jupiter, is about 780,000,000 miles from the Sun; and travelling at the rate of 18,000 miles every hour; performs its annual circuit in about 30 years. Its diameter is 67,000 miles; and therefore it is near 600 times as big as the Earth. This planet has five moons: the first coes round him in near two days, at the Gitance of 140,000 miles from its centre: the fecond in near three days, at the difface of 187,000 miles: the third in four cvs and a half, at the distance of 263,000 es: the fourth in about 16 days, at the Artance of 600,000 miles: and the fifth about 80 days, at the diftance of 1 800,000 miles. Befides thefe moons, Saturn is attended a thin broad ring, as an artificial globe by an horizon; the nature and ufe of which are but little known at prefent. Georgium Sidus, the remoteft of all the planets yet difcovered, is near 40,000 Les in diameter, and upwards of 83 years in performing its revolution. How many poons this planet is attended by is unknown. Two have been already difcovered. And, if the ingenious and indefatigable Mr. Herfchel is fpared with life and health, we may expect to be favoured with ftill further discoveries. Every person who looks upon, and compares the fyftems of moons together, which belong to Jupiter, Saturn, and the Georgim Sidus, muft be amazed at the vaft magnitude of these three planets, and the noble attendance they have in refpect to eur little Earth: and can never bring himlf to think, that an infinitely wife Creator fald difpofe of all his animals and vegetables here, leaving the other planets bare and deftitute of rational creatures. To pofe that he had any view to our berent, in creating these moons, and giving them their motions round their respective primaries; to imagine, that he intended thefe vaft bodies for any advantage to us, when he well knew, that they could never be feen but by a few aftronomers peeping rough telescopes; and that he gave to Me planets regular returns of day and night, and different feafons to all, where they would be convenient; but of no manner of fervice to us, except only what immediately regards our own planet, the Earth; to imagine, I fay, that he did all this on our account, would be charging him impioufly with having done much in vain: and as abfurd, as to imagine that he has created a little fun and a planetary fyftem within the fhell of our Earth, and intended them for our ufe. Thefe confiderations amount to little lefs than a pofitive proof, that all the planets are inhabited for if they are not, why all this care in furnithing them with fo many moons, to fupply thofe with light, which are at the greater diftances from the fun? Do we not fee, that the farther a planet is from the Sun, the greater apparatus it has for that purpole? fave only Mars, which being but a fmall planet, may have moons too fmall to be seen by us. We know that the Earth goes round the Sun, and turns round its own axis, to produce the viciffitudes of fummer and winter by the former, and of day and night by the latter motion, for the benefit of its inhabitants. May we not then fairly conclude, by parity of rea fon, that the end and defign of all the other planets is the fame? And is not this agreeable to the beautiful harmony which exifts throughout the univerfe? Surely it is: and raifes in us the most magnificent ideas of the Supreme Being, who is every where, and at all times prefent; difplaying his power, wisdom and goodness, among all his creatures! aud diftributing happinefs to innumerable ranks of various beings! The comets are folid opaque bodies, with long tranfparent tails or trains, iffuing from that fide which is turned away from the Sun. They move about the Sun, in very eccentric ellipfes, and are of a much greater denfity than the Earth; for fome of them are heated in every period to fuch a degree, as would vitrify or diffipate any fubitance known to us. Sir Ifaac Newton computed the heat of the comet, which appeared in the year 1680, when nearest the Sun, to be 2.000 times hotter than redhot iron, and that, being thus heated, it must retain its heat until it comes round again, although its period fhould be more than 20,000 years; and it is computed to be only 575. 21 It is believed, that there are at least comets belonging to cur fyftem, movX 4 ing ing in all forts of directions. But of all thefe the periods of three only are known with any degree of certainty. The first of the three appeared in the years 1531, 1607, 1682, and 1758, and is expected to appear every 75th year. The fecond of them appeared in 1532 and 1661, and may be expected to return in 1789, and every 129th year afterwards. The third, having laft appeared in 1680, and its period being no less than 575 years, cannot return until the year 2225. This comet, at its greatest distance, is about 11,200,000,000 miles from the Sun; and at its leaft distance from the Sun's centre, which is 49,000 miles, is within lefs than a third part of the Sun's femi-diameter from his furface. In that part of its orbit which is nearest the Sun, it flies with the amazing swiftnefs of 880,000 miles in an hour; and the Sun, as feen from it, appears an ico degrees in breadth, confequently 40,000 times as large as he appears to us. The aftonishing length that this comet runs out into empty space, fuggefts to our minds an idea of the vaft diftance between the Sun and the nearest fixed ftars; of whofe attractions all the comets must keep clear, to return periodically, and go round the Sun and it fhews us alfo, that the nearest stars, which are probably thofe that feem the largeft, are as big as our Sun; and of the fame nature with him; otherwife, they could not appear fo large and bright to us as they do at fuch an immenfe distance. The extreme heat, the denfe atmosphere, the grofs vapours, the chaotic ftate of the comets, feem at first fight to indicate them altogether unfit for the purposes of animal life, and a moft miferable habitation for rational beings; and therefore fome are of opinion, that they are fo many hells for tormenting the damned with perpetual viciffitudes of heat and cold. But when we confider, on the other hand, the infinite power and goodness of the Deity; the latter inclining, the former enabling him to make creatures fuited to all ftates and circumstances; that matter exifts only for the fake of intelligent beings; and that wherever we find it, we always find it pregnant with life, or neceffarily fubfervient thereto; the numberlefs fpecies, the aftonishing diverfity of animals in earth, air, water, and even on other animals; every blade of grass, every tender leaf, every natural fluid, fwarming with life; and every one of thefe enjoying fuch gra tifications as the nature and state of each requires: when we reflect moreover, that fome centuries ago, till experience undeceived us, a great part of the earth was judged uninhabitable; the torrid zone, by reafon of exceffive heat, and the two frigid zones because of their intolerable cold; it feems highly probable, that such numerous and large maffes of durable mat ter as the comets are, however unlike they be to our earth, are not deftitute of be ings capable of contemplating with wonder, and acknowledging with gratitude, the wifdom, fymmetry, and beauty of the crea tion; which is more plainly to be obferv. ed in their extenfive tour through the heavens, than in our more confined circuit. If farther conjecture is permitted, may we not suppose them inftrumental in recruiting the expended fuel of the Sun; and fupplying the exhausted moisture of the pla nets -However difficult it may be, circumftanced as we are, to find out their par ticular deftination, this is an undoubted truth, that wherever the Deity exerts his power, there he also manifefts his wildon and goodness. The fixed ftars, as appears from feveral confiderations, are placed at an immenfe diftance from us. Our Earth is at fo great a distance from the Sun, that if feen from thence, it would appear no bigger than a point, although its circumference is known to be upwards of 25,000 miles. Yet that diftance is fo fmall, compared with the Earth's diftance from the fixed ftars, that if the orbit in which the Earth mov round the Sun were folid, and feen from the neareft ftar, it would likewife appear no bigger than a point, although it is at leaft 162,000,000 miles in diameter. For the Earth in going round the Sun is 162,000,000 miles nearer to fome of the stars at one time of the year, than at another; and yet their apparent magnitudes, fituations, and diftances from one another ftill remain the fame; and a telescope which magnifies above 200 times, does not ferfibly magnify them: which proves them to be at leaft 400,000 times farther from us than we are from the Sun. It is not to be imagined, that all the ftars are placed in one concave furface, lo as to be equally diftant from us; but that they are fcattered at immense distances from one another through unlimited space. So that there may be as great a diftance between between any two neighbouring ftars, as between our Sun and those which are nearest to him. Therefore an obferver, who is nearest to any fixed itar, will look upon it alone as a real fun; and confider the rest as fo many fhining points, placed at equal distances from him in the firma ment. By the help of telescopes we difcover thousands of ftars which are invifible to the naked eye; and the better our glaffes are, fill the more become vifible; fo that we can fet no limits either to their number or their distances. The celebrated Huygens carries his thoughts fo far, as to Lelieve it not impoffible, that there may be stars at fuch inconceivable diftances, that their light has not yet reached the Earth fince its creation, although the velocity of light be a million of times greater than the velocity of a cannon-bullet: and Mr. Addifon very juftly obferves, this thought is far from being extravagant, when we confider, that the univerfe is the work of infinite power, prompted by by infinite goodness; having an istnite fpace to exert itself in; fo that cur imagination can fet no bounds to The Sun appears very bright and large in comparison of the fixed ftars, becaufe we keep conftantly near the Sun, in compariton of our immenfe distance from the ars. For a fpectator, placed as near to ary ftar as we are to the Sun, would fee that ftar a body as large and bright as the San appears to us: and a fpectator, as far dilant from the Sun as we are from the fars, would fee the Sun as fmall as we fee a ftar, diveted of all its circumvolving planets; and would reckon it one of the fars in numbering them. The ftars, being at fuch immenfe diftances from the Sun, cannot poflibly receive from him fo ftrong a light as they feem to have; nor any brightnefs fufficient to make them vifible to us. For the Sun's rays must be fo fcattered and diffipated before they reach fuch remote objects; that they can never be tranfmitted back to our eyes, fo as to render these objects visible by reflection. The stars therefore fhine with their own native and unborrowed luftre, as the Sun does; and fince each particular ftar, as well as the Sun, is confined to a particular portion of space, it is plain, that the ftars are of the fame nature with the Sun. It is no ways probable, that the Almighty, who always acts with infinite wif dom, and does nothing in vain, fhould create fo many glorious funs, fit for fo many important purpofes, and place them at fuch diftances from one another, without proper objects near enough to be benefited by their influences. Whoever imagines they were created only to give a faint glimmering light to the inhabitants of this globe, must have a very fuperficial knowledge of aftronomy, and a mean opinion of the Divine Wifdom: fince, by an infinitely lefs exertion of creating power, the Deity could have given our Earth much more light by one fingle additional moon. Inftead then of one fun and one world only in the univerfe, as the unskilful in astronomy imagine, that science discovers to us fuch an inconceivable number of funs, fyftems and worlds, difperfed through boundless space, that if our Sun, with all the planets, moons, and comets belonging to it, were annihilated, they would be no more miffed, by an eye that could take in the whole creation, than a grain of fand from the fea fhore. The space they poffels being comparatively fo fmall, that it would fcarce be a fenfibie blank in the universe, although Saturn, the outermost of our planets, revolves about the Sun in an orbit of 488,400,000 miles in circumference, and fome of our comets make excurfions upwards of 10,000,000,000 miles beyond Saturn's orbit; and yet, at that amazing disftance, they are incomparably nearer to the Sun than to any of the itars; as is evident from their keeping clear of the attractive power of all the ftars, and returning periodically by virtue of the Sun's attraction. From what we know of our own system, it may be reasonably concluded, that all the reft are with equal wifdom contrived, fituated, and provided with accommodations for rational inhabitants, Let us therefore take a furvey of the fyftem to which we belong; the only one acceffible to us; and from thence we fhall be the better enabled to judge of the nature and end of the other fyftems of the univerfe. For although there is almoft an infinite variety in the parts of the creation which we have opportunities of examining, yet there is a general analogy running through and connecting all the parts into one fcheme, one defign, one whole! And then, to an attentive confiderer, it will appear highly probable, that the planets planets of our fyftem, together with their noons, are much of the fame nature with our Earth, and deftined for the like purpofes. For they are folid opaque globes, capable of fupporting animals and vegetables. Some of them are bigger, fome lefs, and fome much about the fize of our Earth. They all circulate round the Sun, as the Earth does, in a fhorter or longer time, according to their refpective distances from him; and have, where it would not be inConvenient, regular returns of fummer and winter, fpring and autumn. They have warmer and colder climates, as the various productions of our Earth require: and, in fuch as afford a poffibility of difcovering it, we obferve a regular motion round their axes like that of our Earth, caufing an alternate return of day and night; which is neceffary for labour, reft, and vegetation, and that all parts of their furfaces may be expofed to the rays of the Sun. Such of the planets as are farthest from the Sun, and therefore enjoy leaft of his light, have that deficiency made up by feveral moons, which conftantly accompany, and revolve about them, as our Moon revolves about the Earth. The remoteft planet has, over and above, a broad ring encompaffing it; which, like a lucid zone in the heavens, reflects the Sun's light very copiously on that planet: fo that if the remoter planets have the Sun's light fainter by day than we, they have an addition made to it morning and evening by one or more of their moons, and a greater quantity of light in the night-time. On the furface of the Moon, because it is nearer us than any other of the celeftial bodies are, we discover a nearer refemblance of our Earth. For, by the affiftance of telescopes, we obferve the Moon to be full of high mountains, large valleys, deep cavities, and even volcanoes. Thefe fimilarities leave us no room to doubt, but that all the planets and moons in the fyftem are defigned as commodious habitations for creatures endowed with capacities of knowing and adoring their beneficent Creator. Since the fixed ftars are prodigious fpheres of fire, like our Sun, and at inconceivable diftances from one another, as well as from us, it is reasonable to conclude, they are made for the fame purpofes that the Sun is; each to beftow light, heat, and vegetation on a certain number of inhabited planets, kept by gravitation within the fphere of its activity. What an auguft! what an amazing conception, if human imagination can conceive it, does this give of the works of the Creator! Thousands of thousands of funs, multiplied without end, and ranged all around us, at immenfe distances from each other, attended by ten thousand times ten thoufand worlds, all in rapid motion, yet calm, regular, and harmonious, invariably keeping the paths prefcribed them; and thefe worlds peopled with myriads of intelligent beings, formed for endless progreffion in perfection and felicity. If fo much power, wisdom, goodness, and magn ficence is difplayed in the material creation, which is the leaft confiderable part of the univerfe, how great, how wife, how good mult he be, who made and governs the whole! Fergujen 2. Reflections on the Earth and Sea. It has been already obferved, that the Earth ranks as a planet in the folar fyftem; that its diameter is near 8,000 miles, and its circumference about 25,000. The f face of it is divided into land and water; the land is again divided into four parts, which are called, Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. The feas and unknown parts of its furface contain 160,522,026 square miles; the inhabited parts 38,990,569: Europe 4,456,065; Afia 10,768,823; Africa 9 654,807; America 14,110,874; in all 199,512,595; which is the number of fquare miles on the whole furface of our globe. And if we examine it a little farther, what an admirable fpecimen have we of the divine fkill and goodness! This globe is intended, not only for an habitation, but for a ftorehouse of conveniences. And if we examine the feveral apartments of our great abode, we fhall find reafon to be charmed with the difplays both of nice œconomy and boundless profufion. The furface of the ground, coarfe as it may feem, is yet the laboratory where the moft exquifite operations are performed. And though a multitude of generations have been accommodated by it, it still continues inexhaustible. The unevennefs of the ground, far from being a defect, heightens its beauty and augments its ufefulrefs. Here it is fcooped into deep and fheltered vales, almost conftantly covered with verdure, which yields an eafy couch and agreeable food to the various tribes of cattle. There it extends into a wide, open country, which annually bears a copious harveft; an harvest not only only of the principal wheat, which is the Itaff of our life, but of the appointed barley, and various other grain, which are food for our animals. The furrows vary their produce. They bring forth flax and hemp, which help us to fome of the most neceffary accommodations of life. Thefe are wove into ample volumes of cloth, which fixed to the maft, give wings to our fhips. It is twifted into vaft lengths of cordage, which gives nerves to the crane, and finews to the pulley, or elfe adhering to the anchor, fecure the veffel, even amidit the driving tempeft. It covers our tables with a graceful elegance, and furrounds our bodies with a cherishing warmth. Yonder arife the hills, like a grand amphitheatre! Some are clad with mantling vines, fome crowned with towering cedars, home ragged with mis-fhapen rocks or yawning with fubterraneous caves. And even thofe inacceflable crags, thofe gloomy cavities, are not only a refuge for wild goats, but fometimes for thofe of whom the world was not worthy. At a greater diftance the mountains Fattrate the clouds, with their afpiring Eros. Their fides arreft and condenfe the varcurs as they float along. Their caoned bowels collect the dripping treafures, and fend them gradually abroad by trickling fprings: and hence the waters increafing roll down, till they have fwept through the most extenfive climes, and regained their native feas. The vine requires a ftrong reflexion of the fun-beams and a large proportion of warmth. How commodiously do the hills and mountains minister to this purpose! May we not call thofe vaft declivities the garden-walls of nature? Thefe concentre the solar fire, and completely ripen the grape! O that any fhould turn fo valuable a gift of God into an inftrument of fin ! What is nature but a series of wonders? That fuch a variety of fruits should rife from the infipid, fordid earth? I take a walk through my garden or orchard in December. There ftand feveral logs of wood on the ground. They have neither fente nor motion; yet in a little time they are beautified with bloffoms, they are covered with leaves, and at laft loaded with fruit. I have wondered at the account of thofe prodigious engines, invented by Archimedes. But what are all the inventions of men, to thofe nice automata of nature? The foreft rears myriads of maffy bodies, which, though neither gay with bloffoms, nor rich with fruit, fupply us with timber of various kinds. But who fhall cultivate them? The toil were endless. See therefore the ever-wife and gracious ordination of Providence! They have no need of the fpade or the pruningknife. They want no help from man. When fawed into beams, they fuftain the roofs of our houfes. They make carriages to convey our heaviest loads. Their fubftance is fo pliant, that they are easily formed into every kind of furniture: yet their texture fo folid, that they compose the most important parts of the largest engines. At the fame time their preflure is fo light, that they float upon the waters. Thus while they ferve all the ends of architecture, and bestow numberless conveniences on the family, they constitute the very bafis of navigation, and give being to commerce. If we defcend from the ground floor of our habitation into the fubterraneous lodgments, we fhall find there alfo the most exquifite contrivance acting in concert with the most profufe goodness. Here are various minerals of fovereign efficacy: beds fraught with metals of richest value: and mines, which yield a metal of a meaner afpect, but fuperior usefulness. Without the affiftance of iron, what would become of all our mechanic skill? without this we could fcarce either fix the maft, or drop the faithful anchor. We should fcarce have any ornament for polite, or utenfil for common life. Here is an inexhauftible fund of combuftible materials. Thefe mollify the moft ftubborn bars. They melt even the moft stubborn flint, and make it more ductile than the fofteft clay. By this means we are furnished with the moft curious and ferviceable manufacture in the world; which admits into our houses the chearing light, yet excludes the wind and rain: which gives new eyes to decrepit age, and more enlarged views to philofophy; bringing near what is immenfely remote, and making visible what is immenfely fmall. Here are quarries ftocked with ftones, which do not fparkle like gems, but are more eminently ufeful. Thefe form houfes for peace, tertifications for war. Thefe conftitute the arches of the bridge, the arms of the mole or quay, which fcreen our fhips from the moft tempeftuous feas. |