STUDY X, 325 



lîdes, their arguments have been founded, for the 

 mod part, on the diforders of men, who exift in 

 ^an order widely different from that of Nature, and 

 who alone, of all beings endowed with perception, 

 have been committed to their own diredion. 



As to the nature of GOD, I know that faith it- 

 feif prefents Him to us, as the harmonic principle 

 by way of fupreme excellence, not only with rela- 

 tion to all that furrounds Him, of which He is 

 the Creator and Mover, but even in his eflence 

 divided into three perfons. BoJJuet has extended 

 thefe harmonies of Deity to Man, by tracing in 

 the operations of the human Soul, fome confo- 

 nancy to the Trinity, of which it is the image. 

 Thefe lofty fpeculations are, I acknowledge, infi- 

 nitely above my reach. Nay, I am filled with ad- 

 miration to think, that the Divinity Ihould have 

 permitted beings fo weak, and fo tranfitory, as we 

 are, to take fo much as a glimpfe of his omnipo- 

 tence on this Earth ; and that he Ihould have 

 veiled, under combinations of matter, the opera- 

 tions of his infinite Intelligence, in order to adapt 

 it to our perception. A fingle aft of his will was 

 fufiicient to call us into being ; the flightefl com- 

 munication of his works is fufEcient to illuminate 

 our reafon ; but I have a thorough perfuafion, that 

 if the fmallefl ray of his divine efTence were to 

 communicate itfelf directly to us, in a human 

 body, we muft be annihilated. 



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