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we know no more upon the subject, so far as the ultimate ob- 
ject is concerned. It is ascertained, indeed, that the part 
of the atmosphere called oxygen, is the ingredient, im its 
composition, on which life is dependent; but it is ascertained 
also, that pure oxygen gas, breathed alone, is too stimulant, 
and that animals soon die in it; and this knowledge gives 
us another insight into the wisdom of the Deity; for, had 
not the oxygen of the air we breathe been mixed or diluted 
with another kind of air of a passive nature, life could not 
have been sustained by it. 
Oil of vitroil is, you know, a strong corrosive poison, 
and a small quantity of it swallowed, in its concentrated 
or pure state, would prove fatal; but you know, also, that 
when diluted, and consequently weakened by the addition 
of a large quantity of water, it can not only be swallowed, 
but is a pleasant drink, and an efficacious strengthener of 
the stomach. Now the atmosphere forms a parallel case ; 
the oxygen is too strong by itself, but every twenty parts of 
it being diluted with eighty parts of nitrogen or azotic gas, 
the mixture forms the mild and grateful air on which 
our life depends from the first breath that is drawn, till the 
last, when life and respiration cease together. There are 
many gases which, like nitrogen, are unfit for respiration, 
when not mixed with oxygen ; but none could so well have 
answered the purpose of combining with it to form an at- 
mosphere; and, though its utility depends on its negative 
properties, yet it may be considered almost equally neces- 
sary to animal life, as the more active oxygen with which it 
is combined. 
It appears to be every day more and more evident, that 
the deeper we get into scientific discovery, the stronger and 
stronger proofs do we find of the divine wisdom and power; 
and in the composition of the atmosphere, (which is a dis- 
