NATURAL THEOLOGY. 277 



he refer to the spring, he sees that which corrects 

 the inequality of its force. Referring the wheels 

 to one another, he notices, first, their teeth, which 

 would have been without use or meaning if there 

 had heen only one wheel, or if the wheels had 

 had no connexion between themselves, or common 

 bearing upon some joint effect ; secondly, the cor- 

 respondency of their position, so that the teeth of 

 one wheel catch into the teeth of another ; thirdly, 

 the proportion observed in the number of teeth in 

 each wheel, which determines the rate of going. 

 Referring the balance to the rest of the works, he 

 saw, when he came to understand its action, that 

 which rendered their motions equable. Lastly, in 

 looking upon the index and face of the watch, he 

 saw the use and conclusion of the mechanism, viz. 

 marking the succession of minutes and hours ; but 

 all depending upon the motions within, all upon 

 the system of intermediate actions between the 

 spring and the pointer. What thus struck his at- 

 tention in the several parts of the watch he might 

 probably designate by one general name of" rela- 

 tion ;" and observing with respect to all cases 

 whatever, in which the origin and formation of a 

 thing could be ascertained by evidence, that these 

 relations v/ere found m things produced by art 

 and design, and in no other things, he would 

 rightly deem of them as characteristic of such 

 productions. To apply the reasoning here de- 

 scribed to the works of nature. 



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