6 HISTORY OF 



be furnished with, as it is the most interesting 

 and useful. I would beg leave, therefore, to 

 conclude these common-place speculations with 

 an observation, which, I hope, is not entirely so. 

 An use, hitherto not much insisted upon, that 

 may result from the contemplation of celestial 

 magnificence, is, that it will teach us to make an 

 allowance for the apparent irregularities we find 

 below. Whenever we can examine the works of 

 the Deity at a proper point of distance, so as to 

 take in the whole of his design, we see nothing 

 but uniformity, beauty, and precision, The hea- 

 vens present us with a plan, which, though inex- 

 pressibly magnificent, is yet regular beyond the 

 power of invention. Whenever, therefore, we 

 find any apparent defects in the earth, which we 

 are about to consider, instead of attempting to 

 reason ourselves into an opinion that they are 

 beautiful, it will be wiser to say, that we do not 

 behold them at the proper point of distance, and 

 that our eye is laid too close to the objects, to 

 take in the regularity of their connexion. In 

 short, we may conclude, that God, who is re- 

 gular in his great productions, acts with equal 

 uniformity in the little. 



