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thus we arrive at the interesting and important principle of 
Unity of plan and purpose emerging from apparent contra- 
diction and confusion. 
On observing the framework of Creation, we are astonished 
at the endless diversity of forms and existences of which it is 
composed. No two things appear to be exactly alike — no two 
leaves ; no two drops of water ; no two flowers ; no two faces 
of either man or beast, are in all respects coincident. 
10. The productions of Nature are so dissimilar that we 
might almost fancy that they were created by different orders 
of beings. But when we view them attentively; when we be- 
come better acquainted with their structure, their functions, 
and their movements, it appears perfectly plain that they were 
all formed upon the same plan, subjected to the same laws, and 
have emanated from the same Almighty mind. For example : 
nothing can at first sight appear more dissimilar than those 
shining little points called “ planets 99 which wander through 
the starry sky, and the huge, dark, solid, and apparently im- 
movable mass of matter on which we reside. They are so dis- 
similar that for thousands of years no person suspected any 
resemblance between them ; but it is now ascertained beyond 
dispute that they are constructed in the same manner, subjected 
to the same laws— similar in their nature, their functions, and 
their movements ; thus proving that they have proceeded from 
the same Almighty hand. 
11. The earth and the planets are both globular bodies. 
They are both illuminated by the same great light. They both 
turn round upon themselves, producing day and night. They 
are both carried round the sun ; thus making years, which differ 
only in length. Their axes are inclined to the plane of the 
orbit in which they move, and consequently they have their 
springs, their summers, their autumns, and their winters. Some 
of them, we know, enjoy the same advantages from their atmo- 
sphere that we do, and, were we nearer to these bodies, we 
should undoubtedly perceive many other points of similarity. 
This tends to supply an illustration of Unity of plan and pur- 
pose, emerging, from what at first sight, appears to be irrecon- 
cilable diversity and confusion. In our own globe the case is 
still clearer. New countries are continually being discovered, 
but the old laws of Nature are always found in them. We 
meet new plants and animals, but always possessing the same 
general properties and formed upon the same general mode. 
We never get amongst such original or totally different modes 
of existence, as to indicate that we are come into the province 
of a different Creator, or under the direction of a different 
will. In fact the same order of things attends us wherever we 
