286 Preface tos The History of the Mineral Kingdom.” 
and cares for us, our hearts will overflow with grateful love of 
the Deity; we shal! then rejoice in his works and in his good- 
ess. 
But sceptical notions have a pernicious influence in damping 
the sacred fire in our hearts, in cooling the ardour of our spirits, 
and in blotting out the native impressions of the Deity stamped 
on our hearts. The wild and uvnatural notion of the eternity 
of the world leads first to scepticism, and at last to downright 
infidelity aud atheism. 
If once we entertain a firm persuasion that the world is eter- 
nal, and can go on of itself in the reproduction and progressive 
vicissitude of things, we may then suppose that there is no use 
for the interposition of a governing power; and because we do 
pot see the Supreme Being with our bodily eyes, we depose the 
‘almighty Creator and Governor of the universe from his office, 
and instead of divine providence, we commit the care of all 
things to blind chance. 
Like a mob, who think they can do well enough without legal 
Testraints, depose and slay their magistrates. But this is re- 
bellion against lawfal authority, which must soon end in anarchy, 
confusion, and misery,—and so does our intellectual rebellion. 
How degrading is infidelity! how miserable must a thinking 
man be in distress, who does not believe that there is at the head 
of the creation, a good, intelligent, and powerful being, who cares 
for his welfare ‘through all the stages of existence ! 
That Dr. Hutton aims at establishing the belief of the eternity 
of the world, is evident from the whole drift of his system, and 
from his own words, for he concludes his singular theory with 
these singular expressions: “ Having, in the natural history of 
the earth, see a succession of worlds, we may from this con- 
clude, that there is a system in nature, in like manner as from 
seeing the revolutions of the planets, it is concluded that there 
is a system by which they are intended to continue those revo- 
lutions. But if the succession of worlds is established in the 
system of nature, it is in vain to look for any thing higher in the 
origin of the earth. The result, therefore, of our present in- 
quiry is, that we find no vestige of a beginning,—no prospect of 
an end.” 
Thus, our modern philosophers labour hard to confirm their 
favourite scepticism, &c. by all possible means ; or, in other 
words, they labour hard to rob us of our best inheritance, both 
here and hereafter,—to sap the foundations of our belief in re- 
velation, and of the -superintending care and love, and of the 
over-suling providence of the all-benevolent, all-powerful God, 
our Saviour, who cares for us, and upholds us through all the 
‘stages 
