86 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE. 



rence of wicked deeds and the punishment, which 

 they deserve, and that his providence presides 

 over the actions of moral agents, and gives inti 

 mations of the future destiny of those haughty 

 spirits who obstinately persist in their trespasses. 

 And, consequently, as the peace and serenity of 

 virtuous minds are preludes of nobler enjoyments 

 in a future life, so those terrors which now assail 

 the wicked may be considered as the beginnings 

 of that misery and anguish which will be con 

 summated in the world to come, in the case of 

 those who add final impenitence to all their other 

 crimes. 



SECTION VIII. 



ON THE DISORDERED STATE OF THE MORAL 

 WORLD, WHEN CONTRASTED WITH THE 

 REGULAR AND SYSTEMATICAL ORDER OF 

 THE MATERIAL. 



The disordered state of the moral world, con 

 trasted with the regular and systematical order 

 of the material, affords a strong presumption of 

 another state in which the moral evils which 

 now exist will be corrected. 



When we take a general survey of the great 

 fabric of the universe, or comemplate more mi 

 nutely any of its subordinate arrangements, the 

 marks of beauty, order and harmony, are stri 

 kingly apparent. Every thing appears in its pro 

 per place, movinjj onward in majestic order, and 

 accomplishing the end for which it was intended. 

 In the planetary system, the law of gravitation 

 is found to operate exactly in proportion to the 

 square of the distance, and the squares of the pe 

 riodic limes of the planets revolutions round 

 the sun are exactly proportionate to the cubes of 

 their distances. Every body in this system fin 

 ishes its respective revolution in exactly the same 

 period of time, so as not to deviate a single mi 

 nute in the course of a century. The annual re 

 volution of the planet Jupiter was ascertained two 

 centuries ago, to be accomplished in 4330 days, 

 14 hours, 27 minutes, and 11 seconds, and his 

 rotation round his axis in 9 hours, 56 minutes, 

 and these revolutions are still found to be per 

 formed in exactly the same times. The earth 

 performs its diurnal revolution, from one century 

 to another, bringing about the alternate succes 

 sion of day and night, in exactly the same period of 

 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds. Through 

 out the whole of this system, there is none of the 

 bodies of which it is composed that stops in its 

 motion, or deviates from the path prescribed. 

 No one interrupts another in its course, nor in 

 terferes to prevent the beneficial influences of 

 attractive power, or, of light, and heat. Were 

 it otherwise were the earth to stop in its di 

 urnal revolution, and delay to usher in the dawn 



at its appointed time, or were the planets to 

 dash one against another, and to run lawlessly 

 through the sky, the system of Nature would run 

 into confusion, its inhabitants would be thrown in 

 to a state of anarchy, and deprived of all their en 

 joyments. But, in consequence of the order 

 which now prevails, the whole presents to the eye 

 of intelligence an admirable display of beauty 

 and harmony, and of infinite wisdom and desigii. 

 In like manner, if we attend to the arrange 

 ments of our sublunary system to the revolu 

 tions of the seasons, the course of the tides, the 

 motions of the rivers, the process of evapora 

 tion, the periodical changes of the winds, and 

 the physical economy of the animal and vegeta 

 ble tribes the same systematic order and har 

 mony may be perceived. In the construction 

 and movements of the human frame, there is a 

 striking display of systematic order and beauty. 

 Hundreds of muscles of different forms, hundreds 

 of bones variously articulated, thousands of lac 

 teal and lymphatic vessels, and thousands of 

 veins and arteries all act in unison every mo 

 ment, in order to produce life and enjoyment, 

 Every organ of sense is admirably fitted to re 

 ceive impressions from its corresponding objects. 

 The eye is adapted to receive the impression of 

 light, and light is adapted to the peculiar con 

 struction of the eye ; the ear is adapted to sound, 

 and the constitution of the air and its various 

 undulations are fitted to make an impression on 

 the tympanum of the ear. Even in the con 

 struction of the meanest insect we perceive a 

 series of adaptations, and a system of organiza 

 tion no less regular and admirable than those of 

 man ; and as much care appears to be bestow 

 ed in bending a claw, articulating a joint, or 

 clasping the filaments of a feather, to answer its 

 intended purpose, as if it were the only object on 

 which the Creator was employed. And it is 

 worthy of remark, that our views of the harmony 

 and order of the material world become more 

 admirable and satisfactory, in proportion as oui 

 knowledge of its arrangements is enlarged and 

 extended. Whether we explore, with the tele 

 scope, the bodies whirh are dispersed through 

 the boundless regions of space, or pry, by the 

 help of the microscope, into the minutest parts 

 of nature, we perceive traces of order, and oi ex 

 quisite mechanism and design which excite ad 

 miration and wonder in every contemplative 

 mind. Before the invention of the microscope, 

 we might naturally have concluded, that all be 

 yond the limits of natural vision was a scene of 

 confusion, a chaotic mass of atoms without life. 

 form, or order ; but we now clearly perceive, 

 that every thing is regular and systematic, thai 

 even the dust on a butterfly s wing, every dis 

 tinct particle of which is invisible to the naked 

 eye, consists of regularly organized feathers 

 that in the eye of a small insect, ten thousand 

 nicely polished globules are beautifully arranged 



