ASTROLOGY. 
322 
leftial matter flows through a boundlefs and unlimited 
(pace, and operates upon every fubftance that falls within 
the line of its direction. And now, having made it appa¬ 
rent, by an union of concurrent teftimonies, that the fun, 
moon, and liars, have their refpeftive influences, and that 
an aftrology in the heavens does by confequence exift, it 
will be proper to confider how far the ftudy of this noble 
fcience will be compatible with our moral and religious 
obligations, and what degree of it is attainable by the hu¬ 
man underftanding. 
“ That the ftudy and pradtice of altrology is a moral pur- 
fuit, becoming fober and religious men, may be colledted 
from the cufloms of the ancients in all enlightened coun¬ 
tries ; as well as from the belt and wifeft of God’s chofen 
people. And that our all-wife and beneficent Creator ori¬ 
ginally implanted in the frame of nature a means whereby 
mankind may attain to the knowledge of fuch future con¬ 
tingencies as concern their welfare and happinefs, is in no 
refpect to be doubted, fince we obferve in the brute crea¬ 
tion, that even the mod inconliderable creatures upon the 
earth are more or lei's endowed with a gift of foreknow¬ 
ledge. Thus the induftrious bee, and laborious ant, lay 
in their fummer llore, to fupply the rieceflary wants of an 
inclement winter, which they foreknow is yet to come. 
The badger, and hedge-hog, and the mole, alfo provide 
themfelves a magazine of plants and herbs, which they 
foreknow will enable them to lie concealed in their holes, 
during the hard frolts of winter, contented with their pri- 
ion, which affords them fafety. Their holes are alfo con- 
ftrurted with amazing art, and have generally two aper¬ 
tures, that, in cafe one is befet by an enemy, they may 
efcape by the other. The doublings of the hare, and the 
cunning of the fox, to efcape the hounds, are alfo afto- 
nifhing indications of forefight and iagacity. The fea¬ 
thered race are likewife endowed with a fimilar faculty, 
and often foretel an approaching ftorm a confiderable time 
before it appears, by retiring in flocks to their holes and 
hiding-places for (helter and protection. The birds of paf- 
fage feem to inherit this gift in a moff remarkable degree ; 
for they affemble together in prodigious flocks, at an ap¬ 
pointed hour, and take their leave of us before the ap¬ 
proach of w'inter, which they forefee will deftroy the flies 
and other infeCts upon which their own life depends, as 
they feed upon nothing elfe. And it is no lefs extraordi¬ 
nary than true, that thefe birds return as early as the fun 
brings forth this clafs of in feels into new life ; and they 
have alfo the fagacity to find out and repolfefs their former 
nells and habitations. The fame provident forecaft, for 
felf-prefervation and fafety, is even extended to the innu¬ 
merable inhabitants of the immenfe ocean, where we fee 
the fillies, prefled by uriceafing hunger, indiferiminately 
prey upon one another, the large upon the fmall even of 
its own fpecies ; whence the finaller fifh, in regular gra¬ 
dations, w hen in danger of being devoured, fly for an 
afylum to the fliallow waters where they know their enemy 
cannot or dares not purfue them. And this purfuit of one 
f pecies of filh after another, is by no means confined to a 
(ingle region; for we find fhoalsof them purfuingone ano¬ 
ther, from the vicinity of the pole even down to the equa¬ 
tor ; and thus the cod, from the banks of Newfoundland, 
purfues the whiting, which flies before it, even to the 
fouthern fliores of Spain. It is aftonifhing alfo that her¬ 
rings, which appear to generate towards the north of Scot¬ 
land, regularly make their way, once a year, to the Britilh 
Channel. Their voyage is conducted with the utinolf re¬ 
gularity ; and the time of their departure is fixed from the 
month of June to Auguff. They always aliemble together 
before they let out, and no ffragglers are ever found from 
the general body. It is impofiiblejo alTign any caufe for 
this emigration, but it doubtlefsly proceeds from the fame 
inftinftive impulfe with which all orders of animate nature 
are more or lefs endued. Seeing then that the Supreme 
Being, in his paternal regard for the minuted part of his 
works, has endowed the loweft clafs of animals with a gift 
«f foreknowledge in wha immediately concerns their fafety 
and welfare; would it not be derogatory to the equal pro¬ 
vidence of God, to fuppofe he had not ordained, in an in¬ 
finitely fuperior degree, a means of communicating fore- 
knowlege to man, whom he hath gracioufly formed°in his 
own exprefs image and hkenefs, and appointed lord over 
his vaff creation ?—A creature whom he hath endowed 
with a rational foul, capable of paying him adoration and 
worlhip ; and with an underftanding qualified to deeypher 
the golden characters he hath placed in the firmament of 
heaven, for figns of thofe hidden events of futurity which 
are yet to come ? If we give the feriptures an attentive 
perufal, we lhall find a variety of paffages to confirm this 
opinion, botli in the Old and New Teftainent. And we 
may gather additional evidence-, that the Almighty intended 
we fhould ftudy futurity, from the communication given 
to Adam in Paradile by the angel Gabriel; as well as 
from the commiflion Michael the archangel received from 
God, to fttew him, in a vilion, the principal events of fu¬ 
turity, from his fall, to the birth, relurreCfion, and af- 
cenlion, of Chrift. And I think I am warranted to fay, from 
the authority of our Saviour’s own words, that there ap¬ 
pears only one event concerning the human race, which the 
Deity ever propofed to withhold from their knowledge, 
and that is, the time of the laft and terrible day of judg¬ 
ement. But even of this awful and fecret event, we are 
promt fed fome previous intimations, by figns in the fun 
moon, and ftars ; which are the common fignificators of all 
inferior tranfaCfions of futurity. 
“ Now if we confider aftrology, what it truly is, a mo¬ 
ral and virtuous ftudy, we may eafily believe the accounts 
tranlmitted to us by Jofephus and other hiftorians, con¬ 
cerning its antiquity and divine original. We have already 
feen that Adam, previous to hisexpulfion from Pa rad ife, 
was inftruCted in a foreknowledge of futurity, by the ex¬ 
prefs command of God, as a means of enlarging his mind, 
and alleviating his diftrefs, upon being turned adrift into 
the wide world. Jofephus, an hiftorian of charafter and 
eminence, who quotes the rnoft ancient authors of refpec- 
tability for what he aflerts, confirms the fame thing, and 
further informs us, that Adam, before his death, inftrufted 
his fon Seth in this fcience, who afterwards engraved the 
rudiments of it upon permanent pillars of done, which 
endured through many generations, and were not entirely 
effaced till fome time after the deluge. (Seejof. Ant. lib.i. 
cap. 4, 8, 12, &c.) We have it from the fame authority, 
that the art was taught by Enos and Noah, who preferved 
it to the days of Abraham, and he increafed the know¬ 
ledge of it by divine aids, teaching it to the Chaldeans and 
Egyptians. Jofeph is alfo faid to have patronifed and 
taught it in Egypt, and is fuppofed by Origen, Diodorus 
Siculus, and other ancient hiftoriansj to have been the 
author of an aftrological work, called. The Aphorifmsof 
Hermes the Egyptian. (Orig. tom. in Gen. Diod. Sic. lib. i. 
cap. 2.) Mofes afterwards taught and profelled it, inde¬ 
pendent of the gift of prophecy, which always came by 
divine infpiration, and confequently was only exercifed 
upon certain extraordinary occalions. From Mofes, we 
are told, the prophets and feers had it ; and that it was 
afterwards particularly taught among the tribe of Ilfachar, 
who are on that account ftiled in the facred writings, Men 
who had understanding in the times , and were expert at refolv- 
ing all queftions concerning futurity. (1 Chron. xii. 32.) 
And as this tribe were neither priefts nor Levites, nor en¬ 
dued with the fpirit of prophecy, it follows that their un¬ 
derftanding in the times, and their ability in foretelling fu¬ 
ture events, arofe entirely from an acquired knowledge of 
the figns and influences of the heavenly bodies. For the 
fame reafon the Perfian aftrologers were called mages, or 
wife men, who were (killed in the times ; and the Chal¬ 
deans termed their young Undents in aftrology, Men [killed 
in wifdom and cunning fcience, to learn the learning of the Chal¬ 
deans. (Efth. i. 13. Dan.i. 4.) And, after the Chaldean me¬ 
thod of ft udying the fcience of aftrology, Daniel, and Shad- 
rach, and Mefech, and Abednego, were inftrnftedby their 
tutor Melzar, and became ten times more learned in all mat . 
lets 
