attainable in the present state. Let the recollection of this serve to reconcile us to our condition, and to repress the arrogance of complaints and murmurs. What art thou, O' son of man! who, having sprung but yesterday out of the dust, darest to lift up thy voice against thy Maker, and to arraign his Providence, because all things are not ordered according to thy wish? What title hast thou to find fault with the order of the universe, whose lot is so much beyond what thy virtue or merit gave thee ground to claim? Is it nothing to thee to have been introduced into this magnificent world; to have been admitted as a spectator of the divine wisdom and works; and to have had access to all the comforts which nature, with a bountiful hand, has poured forth around thee? Are all the hours forgotten which thou hast passed in ease, in complacency, or joy? Is it a small favour in thy eyes, that the hand of Divine Mercy has been stretched forth to aid thee; and, if thou reject not its proffered assistance, is ready to conduct thee to a happier state of existence? When thou comparest thy condition with thy desert, blush, and be ashamed of thy complaints. Be silent, be grateful, and adore. Receive with thankfulness the blessings which are allowed thee. Revere that government which at present refuses thee more. Rest in this conclusion, that though there are evils in the world, its Creator is wise and good, and has been bountiful to thee.

SECTION XX.

Scale of Beings.

BLAIR.

THOUGH there is a great deal of pleasure in contemplating the material world; by which I mean, that system of bodies, into which nature has so curiously wrought the mass of dead matter, with the several relations that those bodies bear to one another; there is still, methinks, something more wonderful and surprising, in contemplations on the world of life; by which I understand, all those animals with which every part of the universe is furnished. The material worldis only the shell of the universe: the world of life are its inhabitants.

If we consider those parts of the material world, which lie the nearest to us, and are therefore subject to our observations and inquiries, it is amazing to consider the infinity of animals with which they are stocked. Every part of matter is people; every green leaf swarms with inhabitants. There is scarcely a single humour in the body of a man; or of any other animal, in which our glasses do not discover

myriads of living creatures. We find even in the most solid bodies, as in marble itself, innumerable cells and cavities, which are crowded with imperceptible inhabitants, too little for the naked eye to discover. On the other hand, if we look into the more bulky parts of nature, we see the seas, lakes, and rivers, teeming with numberless kintls of living creatures. We find every mountain and marsu, wilderness and wood, plentifully stocked with birds and beasts and every part of matter affording proper necessaries and conveniences, for the livelihood of multitudes which inhabit

it.

The author of " the Plurality of Worlds," draws a very good argument from this consideration, for the peopling of every plant; as indeed it seems very probable, from the an alegy of reason, that if no part of matter, with which we are acquainted, lies waste and useless, those great bodies, which are at such a distance from us, are not desert and up. peopled; but rather, that they are furnished with beings adapted to their respective situations.

Existence is a blessing to those beings only which are endowed with perception; and is in a manner thrown away upon dead matter, any farther than as it is subservient to be ings which are conscious of their existence. Accordingly we find, from the bodies which lie under our observation, that matter is only made as the basis and support of ani mals; and that there is no more of the one than what is necessary for the existence of the other.

Infinite Goodness is of so communicative a nature, that it seems to delight in conferring existence upon every degree of perceptive being. As this is a speculation, which I have often pursued with great pleasure to myself, I shall enlarge farther upon it, by considering that part of the scale of be ings, which comes within our knowledge.)

There are some living creatures, which are raised but just above dead matter. To mention only that species of shell fish, which is formed in the fashion of a cone; that grows to the surface of several rocks; and immediately dies, on being served from the place where it grew. There are many other creatures but one remove from these, which have no other sense than that of feeling and taste. Others have still - an additional one of hearing; others, of smell; and others of sight. It is wonderful to observe by what a gradual progress the world of life advances, through a prodigious variety of species, before a creature is formed, that is complete in all. its senses and even among these there is such a different

degree of perfection, in the sense which one animal enjoys beyond what appears in another, that though the sense in different animals is distinguished by the same common denomination, it seems almost of a different nature. If, after this, we look into the several inward perfections of cunning

;

gucity, or what we call instinet, we find them rising, aft the same manner, imperceptibly one above another and receiving additional improvements, according to the species in which they are implanted. This progress in nature is so very gradual, that the most perfect of an inferior species tomes very near to the most imperfect of that which is immediately above it.)

:

The exuberant and overflowing goodness of the Supreme Being, whose merey extends to all his works, is plainly seen, as I have before hinted, in his having made so very little matter, at least what falls within our knowledge, that does not swarm with life. Nor is his goodness less seen in the diversity, than in the multitude of living creatures. Had he made but one species of animals, none of the rest would have enjoyed the happiness of existence he has therefore, specified, in his creation, every degree of life, every capaeity of being. The whole chasm of nature, from a plant to a man, is filled up with diverse kinds of creatures, rising one after another, by an ascent so gentle and easy, that the little transitions and deviations from one species to another, are almost insensible. This intermediate space is so well husbanded and managed, that there is scarcely a degree of perception, which does not appear in some one part of the world of life. Is the goodness, or the wisdom of the Divine Being, more manifested in this his proceeding?

There is a consequence, besides those I have already mentioned, which seems very naturally deducible from the foregoing considerations. If the scale of being rises by so regular progress, so high as man, we may, by parity of reason, suppose, that it still proceeds gradually through those beings which are of a superior nature to him; since there is infinitely greater space and room for different degrees of perfection, etween the Supreme Being and man, than between man and he most despicable insect.

In this great system of being, there is no creature so wonderful in its nature, and which so much deserves our parLicular attention, as man; who fills up the middle space beween the animal and the intellectual nature, the visible and he invisible world; and who is that link in the chain of eing, which forms the connection between both. So that

he who, in one respect, is associated with angels and archangels, and may look upon a being of infinite perfection as his father, and the highest order of spirits, as his brethren, may in another respect, say, to "corruption, thou art my father, and to the worm, thou art my mother and my sister.

SECTION XXI.

ADDISON,

Trust in the Care of Providence recommended.

MAN, considered in himself, is a very helpless, and a very wretched being. He is subject every moment to the greatest calamities and misfortunes. He is beset with dangers on all sides; and may become unhappy, by numberless casualties, which he could not foresee, nor have prevented had he foreseen them.

It is our comfort, while we are obnoxious to so many aecidents, that we are under the care of one who directs com tingencies, and has in his hands the management of every thing that is capable of annoying or offending us; who knows the assistance we stand in need of, and is always ready to bestow it on those who ask it of him.

The natural homage, which such a creature owes to so infinitely wise and good a Being, is a firm reliance on him for the blessings and conveniences of life; and an habitual trust in him, for deliverance out of all such dangers and diffi culties as may befal us.

The man who always lives in this disposition of mind has not the same dark and melancholy views of human nature, as he who considers himself abstractedly from this relation to the Supreme Being. At the same time that he reflects upon his own weakness and imperfection, he comforts himself with the contemplation of those divine attributes, which are employed for his safety, and his welfare. He finds want of foresight made up by the omniscience of him who is his support. He is not sensible of his own want of strength, when he knows that his helper is almighty. In short, the person who has a firm trust on the Supreme Being is powerful in his power, wise by his wisdom, happy by his happiness. He reaps the benefit of every divine attribute; and and loses his own insufficiency in the fulness of infinite perfection. To make our lives more easy to us, we are commanded to put our trust in him, who is thus able to relieve and succour us; the Divine Goodness having made such a reliance a duty, notwithstanding we should have been miserable, had it been forbidden us.

Among several motives, which might be made use of to commend this duty to us, I shall only take notice of those at follow.

The first and strongest is, that we are promised, he will t fail those that put their trust in him.

But, without considering the supernatural blessing which companies this duty, we may observe, that it has a natural dency to its own reward; or, in other words, that this m trust and confidence in the great Disposer of all things, ntribute very much to the getting clear of any affliction, to the bearing of it manfully. A person who believes he s his succour at hand, and that he acts in the sight of his end, often exerts himself beyond his abilities; and does anders that are not to be matched by one who is not aniated with such a confidence of success. Trust in the assistee of an Almighty Being, naturally produces patience, pe, cheerfulness, and all other dispositions of mind which leviate those calamities that we are not able to remove. The practice of this virtue administers great comfort to e mind of man. in times of proverty and affliction; but Lost of all, in the hour of death. When the soul is hoving, in the last moments of its separation, when it is just atering on another state of existence, to converse with cenes, and objects, and companions, that are altogether ew; what can support her under such tremblings of thought, eh fear, such anxiety, such apprehensions but the casting f her cares upon HIM, who first gave her being; who as conducted her through one stage of it; and who will be Iways present, to guide and comfort her in her progress hrough eternity?

SECTION XXII.

ADDISON.

Piety and Gratitude enliven Prosperity.

PIETY and gratitude to God contribute, in a high degree, o enliven prosperity. Gratitude is a pleasing emotion. The sense of being distinguished by the kindness of another gladdens the heart, warms it with reciprocal affection, and gives to any possession which is agreeable in itself, a double relish, from its being the gift of a friend. Favours conferred by men, I acknowledge, may prove burdensome. For human virtue is never perfect; and sometimes unreasonable expectations on the one side, sometimes a mortifying sense of dependence on the other. corrode in secret the pleasure of benefits, and convert the obligations of friendship inte

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