BOOK I 



THE INVISIBLE WOEED. 



Our imagination, says Bonnet, one of the most zealous 

 expounders of natural history, is equally confounded by 

 what is infinitely great or infinitely small. 



In fact, the phenomena of creation astound us, whether 

 uplifting our look we scrutinize the mechanism of the 

 heavens, or cast our eyes upon the tiniest creatures of 

 this lower realm. 



Immensity is everywhere. It stands revealed in the 

 azure dome of heaven, where glows a perfect dust of 

 stars, and in the living atom which hides from us the 

 marvels of its organization. 



"Whoever," says an illustrious orator, "contemplates 

 this spectacle with the eye of imagination, feels the little- 

 ness of man compared to the greatness of the universe." 

 But although it is true that in presence of the immensity 

 of space and the eternal duration of time, a feeling of 

 humility subjugates us; although each step that man 

 takes in his path, and every wrinkle that furrows his 

 brow, reveal his utter feebleness; yet his genius, that 

 divine emanation, supports him on his journey by showing 

 him both his power and his lofty origin. 



