INTRODUCTION. 



The change of matter from a gaseous 

 to a solid state, and vice versa, is con- 

 stantly going on before our eyes. 

 There is nothing bearing the name of 

 matter, with which we are acquainted, 

 that is not subject to this law of change.* 

 And, is it to be supposed, that this law 

 is confined only to the surface of the 

 earth, or to the matter endued with 

 the vital principle ? May it not be 

 equally enforced through all space, 

 wherever matter exists ? And, may 

 not this law r of change have existed 

 from eternity, and be continued 

 through eternity? May not the same 

 matter, which now composes the solar 

 system, have been reduced to its gase- 

 ous form, and reformed, into systems 

 of planets, and a sun, a thousand times 

 before 1 



