STUDY YIII. 171 



'* rurpafles our imagin;^tion : He, I fay, is abun- 

 " dantly vifible in all thofe wonders of which He 

 ** is the Author. But let our eyes attempt to 

 " penetrate to his throne, and to contemplate all 

 " thefe mighty operations in their fource, here He 

 " muft be ever invifible. 



*' Obferve, for a moment, that the Sun, who 

 " feems defignedly expofed to the view of the 

 '' whole Creation, permits no one, however, ftea- 

 " dily to behold him ; the man who dares to 

 *' make the ralh attempt, is inftantly puniflied 

 " with blindnefs. Nay, more, every inftrument 

 ** employed by the Gods is invifible. The thun- 

 *' der is darted from on high ; it dalhes in pieces 



that by the rains their fources are kept flowing. Of this wc 

 HOW have the moft complete conviftion, by accurate obferva- 

 tions on the evaporations of the Ocean. The monuments 

 which the Ancients have tranfmitted to us in Architeélure, 

 Sculpture, Poetry, Tragedy, Hiftory, will ever ferve as models 

 lo us. We are indebted to them befides for the invention of al- 

 moft all the other Arts ; and it is prefumable that thefe Arts 

 had the fame fuperioi ity over ours, which their liberal Arts 

 have. As to the natural Sciences, they have not left us any 

 objeél of comparifon ; befides, the Priefts, who were chiefly- 

 employed in the cultivation of them, carefully concealed their 

 knowledge from the People. There is little room to doubt, 

 that they poflefl"ed, on this fubjeft, an illumination far tran- 

 fcending ours. Confult what the judicious ^\t I'VilUatn Temple 

 has faid of the magic of the ancient Egj-ptian^s. 



" every 



