354 STUDIES OF NATURE. 



fentiment, fo delicious when it blends with our 

 pleafures, which overwhelms us with anguifli un- 

 utterable when connefted with calamity ; as we 

 but too frequently experience. Hov/ever, I believe 

 that we (hould fmk, at length, under the weight 

 of an unbounded perfpedive, from it's prefenting 

 infinity to us, always in the fame manner ; for our 

 foul has not only the inftind: of it, but likewife 

 that of univerfality, that is, of every poffible mo- 

 dification of infinity. 



Nature has not formed, after our limited man- 

 ner, perfpedives with one or two confonances; 

 but flie compofes them of a multitude of différent 

 progreffions, by introducing that of plans, magni- 

 tudes, forms, colours, movements, ages, kinds, 

 groups, feafons, latitudes; and by combining with 

 thefe an infinity of confonances, deduced from re- 

 flexes of light, of waters, of founds. 



Let me fuppofe that fiie had been limited to 

 the plantation of an avenue from Paris to Madrid, 

 with one fingle genus of trees, fay the fig ; I do 

 not apprehend I fliould tire on performing that 

 journey. I fliould fee upon it one fpecies of the 

 fig-tree bearing the fruit called by the Latins 

 mamillana *, becaufe it had a refemblance to a 



* See PUti/s Natural Hiftory, book xv. chap. i8. 



woman's 



