INTRODUCTION. 



Before proceeding to discuss the subjects whereof these Volumes 

 treat in detail, let me cursorily glance at the circumstances of this sub- 

 lunary sphere appointed for the abode of mankind. My remarks are 

 designed for the literary and illiterate, alike, — for the pious, the moralist, 

 and the indifferent. They aspire no higher than worldly considerations 

 of the weak, nor aim at judging of the precise injunctions or explicit 

 declarations of the Divine Will. They originate only from contem- 

 plating the fair face of Nature. 



The opinions of men unbiassed by prejudice, of those who think 

 justly, will roll in the same channel, and arrive at nearly the same con- 

 clusions. Sustained on a firm basis, they will rivet truth, the final pur- 

 pose of all argument. 



If the records of history, as delivered from remote antiquity, be not 

 called in to support the evidence of the Divine Author in his works, it is 

 not from depreciating theu- authority, but from the facihty of referring 

 to immediate and patent proof, afforded by the wonderful objects dis- 

 played every moment before us. 



In surveying the vast and magnificent frame of the Universe, the 

 mind is absorbed by admiration. That which bears the impress of the 

 mighty seal of Omnipotent Power, by its magnitude bewilders the rea- 

 soning faculties devoted to our lower and humbler condition. It elevates 

 our reflections to heaven. 



The origin and the source of the smallest portion of the universe 

 overpowei-s our comprehen-sion. How little can the acutest senses, the 



A 



