CONCLUSION. 329 



We have now arrived at the last stage of animation : and 

 the student who designs to pursue the knowledge of nature 

 to its whole extent will next have to direct his attention to 

 VEGETABLES, from vegetables to MINERALS, and from the 

 face or the produce of the earth to CELESTIAL ORBS that 

 roll in the abyss of space ; the planets in their regular 

 courses, the comets in their eccentric orbits, and the myriads 

 of stars that adorn the vaults of heaven with their bright 

 embroidery. How amazing is the contemplation of the 

 Universe ! Wonders crowd on wonders ; and the mind is 

 bewildered in the observation, till it recurs to the Supreme 

 Cause, and reposes from its excursions on the bosom of 

 Omnipotence. 



The object indeed of all our physical studies ought to be 

 our moral, as well as intellectual improvement; by exalting 

 our admiration, and inflaming our love, for the Architect 

 of die Universe, and the Creator of all Beings. To this 

 end alone should our inquiries into nature be made con- 

 ducive, and to this purpose chiefly and essentially applied. 

 The proud philosopher, who notices effects without a re- 

 ference to the FIRST CAUSE, will soon be perplexed and 

 lost in a labyrinth of his own construction ; but the devout 

 mind, in tracing the visible energies of the Deity, learns to 

 ascend by successive steps to the fountain of illumination, 

 of order, and of truth ; and, by catching an emanation of 

 the Divinity, sees and determines with clearer vision. 



