CHAPTEE XVII. 



THE WHOLE AND ITS PARTS. 



WE have thus ascended, through progressive stages of ob- 

 servation and induction, from the basis to the apex of the 

 grand pyramid of outer creation. From the commanding 

 position to which we have attained, therefore, it is proper to 

 take a general survey of the ground over which we have 

 passed, and to observe any general or particular facts which 

 may thence present themselves, as bearing, favorably or other- 

 wise, upon the conclusions to which we have been led, or as 

 reflecting light upon still ulterior truths. 



And first, a remark in reference to the method and order 

 of our previous investigations : It will be remembered that 

 we commenced with the observation of sensible facts, which 

 lie upon the exteriors of Nature, and proceeded to trace them 

 analytically to their elements and originative conditions, and 

 those to theirs, until we arrived at the primeval and com- 

 mon chaotic Germ from which all things, by different ramifi- 

 cations, sprang. The nature and propriety of the reverse pro- 

 cess which we thence pursued, with the naturalness of the 

 order of successive results to which it led us, may be illustrated 

 as follows : 



The astronomer discerns in the distant heavens a faint whitish 

 spot, which he calls a nebula. To the naked eye, it appears 

 dim, indistinct, and undefined. He applies a telescope of 

 moderate power, and the outlines of the same object are a 



