“an 
asi bag eisorg to‘siuies. ant, 2sttogorg 
Sqn tey toe Monthly Me PUES onivh 
A'ViswW Of the GiikvatiOw which Exists 
PH? BION BYRE InI@ feng ] 
’ in the’ CALE of Universat Brine. 
-*Say, first, of God above, or man below, _ 
_ What can we reason—but from what we know? 
SE er ae Yr eee 
ie * 
Thro’ worlds unnumber'd tho’ the God be known, 
is Ours,to trace him only in our own. ° 
‘He, who thro’ vast immensity can pierce, 
* Sées'worlds on worlds compose one universe; 
Observes how system into system runs, 
What other planets circle other suns; 
What varied being peoples every star, 
‘May tell why heaven has made us as we are. 
But of this frame, the bearings and the ties, 
The strong connexions, nice dependencies— 
Gradations just—has thy pervading soul 
,Look’d through ?—or can apart contain the whole? 
“Is the great chain, that draws all to agree— 
And drawn, supports—upheld by God, or thee? 
ba _—_ Pope. 
NE of the most beautiful facts in 
‘ the walks of nature is the Grada- 
tion which exists among created beings, 
from the highest to the lowest, and 
which, while it displays the supreme 
wisdom and power of the Creator, is 
cértainly a bright and impressive orna- 
ment*in his mighty and magnificent 
works. To every contemplative mind, 
the’ investigation of this subject—so 
varied, extensive and interesting as it 
is—must be a source of the purest and 
most exalted gratification. In pursuing 
the inquiry from man—the proud, the 
intellectual, and the lordly—to the 
simplest flowers which adorn the ver- 
dant meadow, we are astonished at the 
regular and’ beautiful arrangement of 
the principles by which every species 
of the animal and vegetable kingdom 
live, flourish ‘and multiply. We per- 
céive, also, how different and peculiar 
ate the degrees of excellence in each 
particular kind. In the first ofall terres- 
trial beings —Man—we observe, that it 
is not beauty, nor strength, nor stature, 
which elevate him above his fellows: 
but wholly and purely the powers of 
his mind, the extent of his knowledge, 
and the depth and intensity of his in- 
tellectual endowments. In the beasts 
of the woods and deserts, quali- 
ties, neither’ so lofty, nor so compli- 
cated, confer value or distinction upon 
the different species. Thus, one kind 
js eminent-for its strength—another. for 
ts beauty—another for its swiftness— 
another for.its ferocity—another for its. 
docility—and. another. for its sagacity 
ot instinct. In considering the varieties 
of-therfeathered. race, ave find that-the 
séme,-or nearly thessame qualities (with. 
a0 F tHarndrore 
5 
Giddation of Universal Being. 
[Aug."f, 
the addition; indeed; ‘of their astonish- 
ing er of artietilating soands)idivide: 
this department of the wiimal lamgdom: 
inte nutiberless tribes. ‘Phe sameire» 
marks, subject ‘to certain mouifieations, 
are applicable’ tothe remainingwvarietits! 
of animals, and, ‘in some! mea’ureji to" 
those of vegetables: the whole being 
connected, by a. chain, too. subtle. for 
actual definition, and only.to, be accur. 
rately understood by a careful,-and, mi- 
nute examination of the surpassing con- 
struction of them all. to re at 
But, although the links which com- 
pose this chain are so’ finely wrought,’ 
that they are searcely perceptible, yet: 
the manner by which the consummaté 
wisdom. of the Divine Artificer has’ 
formed the gradation—so .extensive in. 
the whole—so incomprehensible in its 
minute divisions —is_ sufficiently ob- 
vious. He constantly unites the highest. 
degree of the qualities of each inferior 
order to the lowest degree of the qua- 
lities belonging to the order next above 
it: by which means, like the colours of a 
skilful painter, they are so blended toge-> 
ther, that no line of distinction is any 
where to be seen. Thus, for instance, so- 
lidity, extension and gravity—the quali- 
ties of mere matter—being united with 
the lowest degree of vegetation, or the 
principles of spontaneous growth, com- 
pose a stone; from whence this vege- 
tative power, ascending through an in- 
finite variety of herbs, flowers, plants 
and trees, to its greatest perfection in. 
the sensitive plant, joins there the 
lowest degree of animal life in the shell~ 
fish which adheres to the wall; and it’ 
is difficult to distinguish which possesses 
the greatest share of animation, as’ the 
one shows its sensibility only by shrink-. 
ing from the finger, and the other, by. 
opening to receive the water which sur-. 
rounds “it.. In the; same, manner;,-this.’ 
animal life rises from this low:beginning: 
in the shell-fish, through ‘innumerable: 
species of ‘insects, fishes, birds «and 
beasts, to the confines of reason’; where; 
in the dog, the monkey, and the chim 
pauzeé or ape, it unites so closely with 
the lowest degree of that quality; iW 
man, that they cannot easily be distin=! 
guished from each other. From ‘this’ 
lowest degree in the brutal Hottentoty 
reason, with the assistance of learning’ 
and sciencé, advances through the oe 
rious stages. of human understanding, 
which rise above each, other, til 
Bacoa,-or a Newton, it-attainsst 
mit:—Soame-dennings’s- Disquisitians.»; 
* st T =. viqozetidg to Bhs: 
