THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER. 



size seldom exceeds that of the moon. The 

 Jength of the tails of some comets has been esti 

 mated at fifty millions of miles. According to 

 Dr. Herschel s computations, the solid nucleus 

 or central part of the comet which appeared in 

 1811, was only 428 miles in diameter ; but the 

 real diameter of the head, or nebulous portion 

 of the comet, he computed to be about 127 thou 

 sand miles. The length of its tail he computed 

 .o be above one hundred millions of miles, and 

 its breadth nearly fifteen millions. It was near 

 est to the earth on the llth of October, when its 

 distance was 113 millions of miles. The num 

 ber of comets which have occasionally been seen 

 within the limits of our system, since, the com 

 mencement of the Christian era, is about 500, 

 of which the paths or orbits of 98 have been cal 

 culated. 



As these bodies cross the paths of the planets 

 in every direction, there is a possibility, that 

 some of them might strike against the earth in 

 their approach to the sun ; and, were this to 

 happen, the consequences would be awful beyond 

 description. But we may rest assured that that 

 Almighty Being who at first launched them into 

 existence, directs aril their motions, however 

 complicated ; and that the earth shall remain se 

 cure against all such concussions from celestial 

 agents, till the purposes of his moral government 

 in this world shall be fully accomplished. What 

 regions these bodies visit, when they pass beyond 

 the limits of our view ; upon what errands they 

 are sent, when they again revisit the central 

 parts of our system ; what is the difference in 

 their physical constitution, from that of the sun 

 and planets ; and what important ends they are 

 destined to accomplish, in the economy of the 

 universe, are inquiries which naturally arise in 

 the mind, but which surpass the limited powers 

 of the human understanding at present to deter 

 mine. Of this, however, we may rest assured, 

 that they were not created in vain ; that they 

 subserve purposes worthy of the infinite Creator ; 

 and that wherever he has exerted his power, 

 there also he manifests his wisdom and bene 

 ficence.* 



Such is a general outline of the leading facts 

 connected with that system of which we form a 

 part. Though the energies of divine power had 

 never been exerted beyond the limits of this sys 

 tem, it would remain an eternal monument of the 

 wisdom and omnipotence of its Author. Inde- 



A comet has lately been discovered, whose peri 

 odical re volution is found to be only 3 years and 107 

 days. At its greatest distance from the sun, it is 

 within the orbit of Jupiter, and it possesses this 

 peculiar ad vantage for observation, that ix will be 

 come visible ten times in thirty -three years. It was 

 last seen in June, 1822, by the astronomers in the 

 observatory of Paramatta, New Holland, in positions 

 very near to those which had been previously calcu 

 lated by Mr Enke. It is probable, that the observa 

 tions which may hereafter be made on this comet, 

 will lead to more definite and accurate views of the 

 nature and destination of these singular bodies. 



pendent of the sun, which is like a vast universe 

 in itself, and of the numerous comets which are 

 continually traversing its distant regions, it con 

 tains a mass of material existence, arranged in 

 the most beautiful order, two thousand five hun 

 dred times larger than our globe. From late 

 observations, there is the strongest reason to 

 conclude, that the sun, along with all this vast 

 assemblage of bodies, is carried through the re 

 gions of the universe, towards some distant point 

 of space, or around some wide circumference, at 

 the rate of more than sixty thousand miles an 

 hour; and if so, it is highly probable, if not ab 

 solutely certain, that we shall never again occu 

 py that portion of absolute space, through which 

 we are this moment passing, during all the suc 

 ceeding ages of eternity. 



Such a glorious system must have been 

 brought into existence, to subserve purposes 

 worthy of the infinite wisdom and benevolence 

 of the Creator. To suppose that the distant 

 globes, of which it is composed, with their mag 

 nificent apparatus of rings and moons, were 

 created merely for the purpose of affording a 

 few astronomers, in these latter times, a peep at 

 them through their glasses, would be inconsistent 

 with every principle of reason ; and would be 

 charging Him, who is the source of wisdom, 

 with conduct which we would pronounce to be 

 folly in the sons of men. Since it appears, so 

 far as our observation extends, that matter exists 

 solely for the sake of sensitive and intelligent be 

 ings, arid that the Creator made noshing in vain; 

 it is a conclusion to which we are necessarily 

 led, that the planetary globes are inhabited by 

 various orders of intellectual beings, who parti 

 cipate in the bounty, and celebrate the glory o. 

 their Creator. 



When this idea is taken into consideration, it 

 gives a striking emphasis to such sublime decla 

 rations of the sacred volume as these: &quot;Ail 

 nations before him are as nothing He sitteth 

 upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants 

 thereof are as grasshoppers The nations are as 

 the drop of a bucket All the inhabitants of the 

 world are reputed as nothing in his sight; ar&amp;gt;d he 

 doth according to his will in the army of heaven, 

 and among the inhabitants of the earth Thou 

 hast made heaven, and the heaven of heavens, 

 with all their host ; and thou preservest them all, 

 and the host of heaven worshippcth thee When I 

 consider thy heavens, what is man, that thou art 

 mindful of him !&quot; If the race of Adam were the 

 principal intelligences in the universe of God, 

 such passages would be stripped of all their sub 

 limity, would degenerate into mere hyperboles, 

 and be almost without meaning. If man were 

 the only rational being who inhabited the mate 

 rial world, as some arrogantly imagine, it would 

 be no wonder at all, that God should be &quot; mind 

 ful of him;&quot; nor could &quot; all the inhabitants of 

 this world,&quot; with any propriety, be compared to 



