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HUTTONIAN THEORY. 



121 



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By the maxims of philofophy, he mu ft have 



been reminded, that, in no part of the hiflory 

 of nature, has any mark been difcovered, either 

 of the beginning or the end of the prefent or- 

 der ; and that the geologift fadly miftakes, both 

 the obje(5l of his fcience and the limits of his un- 

 derftanding, who thinks it his bufinefs to explain 



the means employed by infinite wi 

 eftabliftiing the laws, which i 



ow gover 



for 

 the 



world. 



By attending to thefe obvious coniiderations, 

 Mr Kirwan would have avoided a very illiberal 

 and ungenerous proceeding ; and, however he 

 might have differed from Dr Hutton as to the 

 truth of his opinions, he would not have cen- 

 fured their ^, 



tendency with fuch ralh and unjufti 

 fiable feverity. 



But, if this author may be blamed for want 

 ing the temper, or negleding the rules, of phi 



lofoph 



dig 



he is hardly lefs 



ulp 



ble, for having fo flightly confidered the fcop 



and fpirit of 



freely. 



work 



hich h 



demned fo 



I 



that 



k, inftead of finding the 

 world reprefented as the refult of neceffitv 

 or chance, which might be looked for, if the 



well 



fatio 



of 



atheifm or 



piety were 



founded, we fee every where the utmoft atten- 

 tion to difcover, and the utmoll difpofition to 

 admire, the inftances of wife and beneficent de- 



fign. 



