74 FIXBD STARS, &c. [Lesson xv. 



tion- " Lord, what is man, lhat thou art mindful 

 "of him?" 



As there is a. general analogy running through 

 and connecting every part of the creation, into 

 one grand whole : and as there is undoubtedly an 

 absolute similarity between the earth we inhabit 

 and the other planets in our system ; can it be un- 

 reasonable to suppose that they and the planets of 

 ether systems have plants, and trees, herbs, fruits, 

 &c. &c. as we have? Or is it repugnant to na- 

 ture to imagine that they are inhabited by animals 

 and rational creatures ? Among numberless argu- 

 ments which might be adduced, a very good one 

 to shew the great probability of the planets being 

 inhabited, is derived from the following conside- 

 ration. . There is no part of matter that we are ac- 

 quainted with, which lies waste and useless : seas, 

 lakrs,and rivers,teem with living creatures; moun- 

 tains and vallies; trees and herbs; grasses and the 

 animals which feed upon them; nay, even the 

 blood and:humours of the animals themselves, all 

 have their respective inhabitants. Surely, then, 

 t-he most numerous and large bodies in the uni- 

 verse, are furnished with beings adapted to their 

 several situations. What an august conception does 

 this give of the works of the CREATOR ! Almost 

 more than the human imagination is able to con- 

 ceive. 



Millions of --suns at immense distances from 

 each other; attended by tens of millions of worlds 

 moving round them, all in rapid motion, yet re- 

 gular and calm: and these, we may safely infer, 



are 



