INTRODUCTION. 



BEFORE proceeding to discuss the subjects whereof these Volumes 

 treat in detail, let i -ur-nrily gknce at the circumstance* of this sub- 

 lunary sphere appointed for the abode of mankind. My remark* are 

 designed tor tin- literary and illiterate, alike, for the pious, the moralist, 

 and the indillerent. They aspire no higher than worldly consideration* 

 of the weak, nor aim at judging of the previse injunctions or explicit 

 declanitioiui of the Divine Will. They originate only from contem- 

 plating the fair face of Nature. 



The opinions of men unbiassed by prejudice, of those who think 

 jn-tly. will roll in the same channel, and arrive at nearly the same con- 

 clusions. Sustained on a firm basis, they will rivet truth, the final pur- 

 pose of all argument. 



If the records of history, as delivered from remote antiquity, be not 

 railed in to support the evidence of the Dirine A tithnr in his trork*, it is 

 not from depreciating their authority, but from the facility of referring 

 to immediate and patent proof, afforded by the wonderful objects dis- 

 played every moment before n-. 



In urve\ in.i; the vast and magnificent frame of the Universe, the 

 mind is absorbed by admiration. That which bears the impress of the 

 mL'hty seal of Omnipotent Power, by its magnitude bewilders the rea- 

 soning faculties devoted to our lower and humbler condition. It elevates 

 our retli-tii.ns to heaven. 



The origin and the source of the smallest portion of the universe 

 overpowers our comprehension. How little can the acutest sense*, the 



A 



