Plants. 181 



ing by a regular gradation, like stars in 

 the galaxy under the best telescopes, till 

 they are lost in the infinity of minuteness, 

 leaving every reason to believe, that, 

 could the magnifying powers of our in- 

 struments be augmented a thousand fold, 

 we should still find ourselves as far from 

 discovering the termination of this series 

 of infinite diminution as we were at the 

 commencement of our imperfect survey. 

 The world that we see, therefore, seems 

 to be but a very small part of that which 

 exists ; our feeble optics are capable of 

 taking in scarcely a point of that universe 

 which surrounds us ; and our imperfect 

 understandings can scarcely obtain a 

 glimpse of that infinite power and wisdom 

 which regulates the whole. Among this 

 infinity of objects, however, we can clear- 

 ly perceive the most perfect regularity 

 and order pervading every part; and 

 that all the operations of nature proceed 

 with invariable steadiness to effect the 

 purposes for which they have been de- 

 signed. 



Thus we see that all animate objects, 

 from the largest that has been discovered 

 on this globe, to the smallest that can 



