.'H2 RELIGIOUS VIEWS. 



train of thought was habitual to the philosopher 

 we have abundant evidence in many other parts 

 of his writings. He had already said in the same 

 dialogue, " Nature (or God, as he elsewhere 

 speaks) employs means in an admirable and 

 inconceivable manner; admirable, that is, and 

 inconceivable to us, but not to her, who brings 

 about with consummate facility and simplicity 

 things which affect our intellect with infinite 

 astonishment. That which is to us most difficult 

 to understand is to her most easy to execute." 



The establishment of the Copernican and 

 Newtonian views of the motions of the solar 

 system and their causes, were probably the occa- 

 sions on which religious but unphilosophical men 

 entertained the strongest apprehensions that the 

 belief in the government of jGod may be weakened 

 when we thus " thrust some mechanic cause into 

 his place." It is therefore fortunate that we can 

 show, not only that this ought not to occur, from 

 the reason of the thing, but also that in fact the 

 persons who are the leading characters in the 

 progress of these opinions were men of clear and 

 fervent piety. 



In the case of Copernicus himself it does not 

 appear that, originally, any apprehensions were 

 entertained of any dangerous discrepancy between 

 his doctrines and the truths of religion, either 

 natural or revealed. The work which contains 

 these memorable discoveries was addressed to 



