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THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER. 



through the world. If we admit, th.it, in future 

 ages, the religion of the Bible will shed its benign 

 influence over all nations that the external 

 condition of the human race will then be prosper 

 ous and greatly meliorated beyond what it has 

 ever been and, that no miraculous interposition of 

 Deity is to be expected to bring about such desi 

 rable events it will follow, that such objects can 

 be accomplished only in the ordinary course of 

 Providence, by rational investigations into the 

 principles and powers of nature, and the appli 

 cation of the inventions of science to the great 

 objects of religion and of human improvement, 

 as I shall endeavour briefly to illustrate in the 

 following chapter. As the destructive effects of 

 many physical agents, in the present condition of 

 our globe, are, doubtless, a consequence of the 

 sin and depravity of man ; we have reason to be 

 lieve that, when the economy of nature shall be 

 more extensively and minutely investigated, and 

 the minds of men directed to apply their discove 

 ries to philanthropic and religious objects, they 

 will be enabled to counteract, in a great measure, 

 those devastations and fatal effects which are 

 now produced by several of the powers of nature. 

 The general happiness of all ranks, which will 

 be connected with the universal extension of 

 Christianity, necessarily supposes that this ob 

 ject will be accomplished ; for, were a dread of 

 destruction from the elements of nature frequent 

 ly to agitate the mind, as at present, no perma 

 nent tranquillity would be enjoyed ; nor would 

 that ancient prediction, in reference to this era, 

 receive its full accomplishment, that &quot; there shall 

 be nothing to hurt or destroy in all God s holy 

 mountain, when the earth shall be full of the 

 knowledge of the Lord.&quot; And since miraculous 

 interpositions are not to be expected, to what 

 quarter can we look for those subordinate agen 

 cies by which this object is to be effected, but to 

 the discoveries and inventions of philosophical 

 science? 



Science has already enabled us to remedy 

 many of those evils which are the accidental ef 

 fects of the operation of physical agents. For 

 example the discoveries of the philosopher, with 

 respect to the nature of the electric fluid, have 

 enabled us to construct conductors for preserving 

 buildings from the stroke of lightning : and we 

 have every reason to hope, that in the progress of 

 electric, galvanic, and chymical science, more 

 complete thunder-guards, applicable to all the 

 situations in which a person may be exposed, 

 will be invented. Nay, our increasing know 

 ledge of the electric fluid, and of the chymical 

 agents which concur in its operation, njay ena 

 ble us to dissipate thunder-storms altogether, by 

 disturbing the electricity of the clouds by means 

 of a series of elevated artificial conductors. This 

 is not only possible, but has already been in 

 some degree effected. The celebrated Euler in 

 forms nsl in his &quot; Letters to a German Princess,&quot; 



that he corresponded with a Moravian priest- 

 named Divisch, who assured him &quot; that he ha&amp;lt;! 

 averted, during a whole summer, every thunder 

 storm which threatened his own habitation and 

 the neighbourhood, by means of a machine con 

 structed on the principles of electricity that the 

 machinery sensibly attracted the clouds, and con 

 strained them to descend quietly in a distillation, 

 without any but a very distant thunder-clap.&quot; 

 Euler assures us that &quot; the fact is undoubted, 

 and confirmed by irresistible proof.&quot; Yea, not 

 only may the destructive effects of lightning be 

 averted by the inventions of philosophy, but its 

 agency may be rendered subservient to human 

 industry, and made to act as a mechanical power. 

 This effect, too, has been partially accomplished. 

 About the year 1811, in the village of Philips- 

 thai, in Eastern Prussia, an attempt was made 

 to split an immense stone into a multitude of 

 pieces, by means of lightning. A bar of iron, in 

 the form of a conductor, was previously fixed to 

 the stone, and the experiment was attended with 

 the most complete success ; for, during the very 

 first thunder-storm, the lightning burst the stone 

 without displacing it.* 



It is, therefore, probable, that in the future ages 

 of the world, this terrific meteor, and other de 

 structive agents, which now produce so much 

 alarm, and so many disastrous effects, may, by 

 the aid of philosophy, be brought under the con 

 trol of man, and be made to minister to his 

 enjoyment. 



The electric fluid has also been, in many in 

 stances, successfully applied in curing palsies, 

 rheumatisms, spasms, obstructions, and inflam 

 mation ; and it is known to have a peculiar ef 

 fect on the nervous system. Lightning has been 

 known to restore the blind to a temporary enjoy 

 ment of sight. Mr. Campbell, of Succoth, in 

 Dumbartonshire, who had been blind for several 

 years, was led by his servant one evening through 

 the streets of Glasgow, during a terrible thunder 

 storm. The lightning sometimes fluttered along 

 the streets for a quarter of a minute without ceas 

 ing. While this fluttering lasted, Mr. C. saw 

 the street distinctly, and the changes which had 

 been made in that part by taking down one of 

 the city gates. When the storm was over, his 

 entire blindness returned. A still more rematk- 

 able instance is stated, along with this, tinder 

 the article Thunder, in Dr. Gleig s Supp. to 

 Ency, Brit, which was written by tin: late Profess 

 or Robison. It is also possible that barren deserts 

 might be enriched with fertility, and immense 

 portions of the desolate wastes of our globe pre 

 pared for the support and accommodation of hu 

 man beings, by arresting the clouds, and draw 

 ing down their electrical virtue and their watery 

 treasures by means of an extended series of ele 

 vated metallic conductors. What has been now 



See Monthly Magazine, vol. 32, p. 162 



