58 ALL-WISE PROVISION. 



Light diminishes rapidly in passing through water, as 

 it does in glass and other transparent bodies. At a 

 certain depth the sun would be invisible, as if a mass 

 of stone had been interposed. On the land absolute 

 darkness is a very rare occurrence, while nocturnal ani- 

 mals, with a large pupil and highly sensible nerve, have 

 a peculiar provision for discovering their prey. But 

 under the entire want of light in the sea, no such 

 power could be a compensation ; while the great velo- 

 city of the tribes that inhabit the ocean, and the fre- 

 quent distances between the pursuer and the pursued, 

 must also be an obstacle to distinct vision. 



As the sea has been beheld, how rarely has the 

 thought arisen. There is a world without light, yet there 

 are myriads of the most active and rapacious animals, 

 often social, performing various functions, moving over 

 great distances with the rapidity of birds, and above 

 all provided with organs of vision. Still more rarely 

 has the inquiry been proposed. How can this difficulty 

 be met ; how can light be scattered over this vast 

 abyss ? Day could not be brought into the depths 

 of the ocean ; it was forbidden by the laws of light ; 

 yet it was indispensable to enable the inhabitants of the 

 sea to obtain their prey. The wisdom of God has, there- 

 fore, provided an independent source of light beneath 



