STABILITY OF THE OCEAN. 179 



condition of the stability of the ocean is abun- 

 dantly fulfilled. And the provision by which 

 this stability is secured was put in force through 

 the action of those causes, whatever they were, 

 which made the density of the solid materials 

 and central parts of the earth greater than the 

 density of the incumbent fluid. 



When we consider, however, the manner in 

 which the wisdom of the Creator, even in those 

 cases in which his care is most apparent, as in 

 the structure of animals, works by means of 

 intermediate causes and general laws, we shall 

 not be ready to reject all belief of an end in such 

 a case as this, merely because the means are me- 

 chanical agencies. Laplace says, " in virtue of 

 gravity, the most dense of the strata of the earth 

 are those nearest to the centre; and thus the 

 mean density exceeds that of the waters which 

 cover it ; which suffices to secure the stability of 

 the equilibrium of the seas, and to put a bridle 

 upon the fury of the waves." This statement, 

 if exact, would not prove that He who subjected 

 the materials of the earth to the action of gravity 

 did not intend to restrain the rage of the waters: 

 but the statement is not true in fact. The lower 

 strata, so far as man has yet examined, are very 

 far from being constantly, or even generally, 

 heavier than the superincumbent ones. And 

 certainly solidification by no means implies a 

 greater density than fluidity : the density of 



