BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 3J ' / 



face of nature, is no doubt that diversity of light and 

 shade, of colour and hue, that in every direction su- 

 lutes his eye. In this respect, also, the sun may be 

 said to be the fountain of cheerfulness, as it is cer- 

 tainly the cause of colour. The sun is the great lim- 

 ner of nature, .whose beautifying rays paint creation. 

 " The blushing beauties of the rose, the modest blue 

 of the violet," as Goldsmith observes, <4 are not in the 

 flowers themselves, but in the light that adorns them. 

 Odour, softness, and beauty of figure, are their own ; 

 but it is light alone that dresses them up in those 

 robes w r hich shame the monarch's glory." 



The sun may, therefore, also be well styled the 

 fountain of colour ; and, but for this, what disadvan- 

 tages would we labour under, notwithstanding the 

 beneficial distribution of light and heat! In that 

 case, we would not only be unable to distinguish ob- 

 jects at a distance, and to perceive the colour of the* 

 raiment of our nearest friends, but be incapable of 

 observing any difference of complexion between the 

 ink that flows from our pen, and the paper on which 

 we write. Without this discriminating property of 

 light, no pleasing variety would overspread the great 

 carpet of nature ; the same unvaried hue, in every 

 direction, would meet our eye; the same dull uni- 

 formity would every where prevail. 



Such are some of the beneficial consequences that 

 result from the sun, with respect to the earth. We 

 shall now consider him in another and a more ex- 

 alted light, as the centre of the Solar System. 



