334 RELIGIOUS VIEWS. 



who have added to the riches and elegance of the 

 mechanical philosophy. And if we are seeking 

 for extraneous grounds of trust and comfort on 

 this subject, we may find them in the reflexion ; 

 that, whatever may be the opinions of those 

 who assume the causes and laws of that philosophy 

 and reason from them, the views of those admir- 

 able and ever-honoured men who first caught 

 sight of these laws and causes, impressed them 

 with the belief that this is " the fabric of a great 

 and good God ;" that " it is man's duty to pour 

 out his soul in praise of the Creator ;" and that 

 all this beautiful system must be referred to " a 

 first cause, which is certainly not mechanical." 



2. We may thus, with the greatest propriety, 

 deny to the mechanical philosophers and mathe- 

 maticians of recent times any authority with 

 regard to their views of the administration of the 

 universe ; we have no reason whatever to expect 

 from their speculations any help, when we attempt 

 to ascend to the first cause and supreme ruler of 

 the universe. But we might perhaps go further, 

 and assert that they are in some respects less 

 likely than men employed in other pursuits, to 

 make any clear advance towards such a subject 

 of speculation. Persons whose thoughts are thus 

 entirely occupied in deduction are apt to forget 

 that this is, after all, only one employment of the 

 reason among more ; only one mode of arriving 

 at truth, needing to have its deficiencies com- 



