91 ' 



spins, for him, her precious wool. The yielding metal 

 is moulded in his hands : the stone softens in his ringers. 

 The largest and strongest trees fall at his feet ; and re- 

 ceive from him a new being. All the animals are sub- 

 ject to his laws; even the fiercest of them insult not his 

 crown with impunity : he makes some serve for food ; 

 others he harnesses to his chariot ; and others he con- 

 demns to till his land : many of them he appoints to 

 uc iiia porters, hunure, guu.rrl, tmd musicians. In short, 

 man ploughs his adventurous way across the vast ocean, 

 and, by navigation, unites the two extremities of the 

 globe. 



5. The EXCELLENCE of human reason shines 

 likewise with a new lustre, from the establishment 

 of societies. In them, virtue, honour, fear, and in- 

 terest, variously employed or combined, prove the 

 source of peace, happiness, and order. All the indivi- 

 duals, being mutually interwoven together, move in a 

 regular and harmonious manner. Under tire sanction 

 of the laws, the king, prince, and magistrate, by exer- 

 cising a lawful authority, promote virtue, suppress vice, 

 and spread around them the happiest effects of their ad- 

 ministration. In society, as in a pure and fertile climate, 

 talents of different kinds spring up and unfold them- 

 selves. From that, the mechanical and liberal arts 

 flourish. Lastly, society perfects friendship, that faith- 

 ful companion of life, which administers consolation in 

 our sufferings, and gives a relish to our pleasures. 



6. The last mark of the greatness of inao, and of his 

 high exaltation above other animals, is the commerce he 

 has with his CREATOR by religion. 



Wrapped in the thickest darkness, the rest of the ani- 

 mal creation are ignorant of the HAND that formed 

 them. They enjoy an existence, but cannot trace the 

 AUTHOR of life. Man alone soars to GOD the PRIN- 

 CIPLE, and prostrate at the foot of the throne of the 

 ALMIGHTY, adores with the profouudest veneration, 



