reflects them afterwards to our sight, and, by this means, we enjoy light much longer, and the time for labour is considerably prolonged.

It is thus that a gracious Providence has planned, not only the great revolutions of seasons, but also the daily transition from light to darknes, in the manner most advantageous to us. Let us, therefore, acknowledge, with thanksgiving, the goodness of our Creator, and adore his wisdom in this arrangement so useful to us. The insen-' sible approach of night, in the inanimate part of the creation, makes me think of the approach of the evening of my life. That also comes on by degrees; and I shall be almost imperceptibly surrounded by the shades of death. God grant that the great work I have to do may then be happily ended, and that I may have fulfilled the task allotted me. I must work while it is yet day. The night comes, in which no man can work.

MARCH XXIX.

Magnificence of God in his Works.

WHY is there such splendour in the works of God? Why is there such magnificence in all we see? Why do we discover, on all sides, so manydifferent numberless objects, which appear each more beautiful than the other, and each of which has its peculiar charms? Why do we every where find new cause for wonder and admiration? It is, doubtless, that we may never cease to admire and adore the great Being, who is infinitely more beautiful, more sublime, and more magnificent, than all we admire most in nature. It is, that we may continually say to ourselves, If the works be co complete, what must the Creator be? If such is the beauty of creatures, what must be the inexpressible beauty, the infinite

greatness, of Him who beholds, with one glance, the whole creation? If the sun has a dazzling brightness, which our eyes cannot bear, ought we to be surprised, that he who lighted that globe, dwells in inaccessible light, where no eye has seen, or can see him? Should he be less wonderful than the beings he has formed? The more wonderful his works are, the more he himself must rai our wonder and admiration. If we could thoroughly comprehend his greatness, he would not be a God, or we should not be men. How then can we better enlarge our minds, and lay up a richer treasure of ideas, than in contemplating that God, whose greatness and magnificence is unlimited? Is it not in such contemplations that the faculties of our souls may best acquire that force and energy, which will make us capable of enjoying infinite happiness? The more extensive our knowledge here, and the more our minds are enlarged in the contemplation of the greatest of all beings, so much the more we shall be able to adore him in a future state. Let us, therefore, always divide our attention between God and nature; but only in order to consider in the latter, as in a glass, the image of that Being whom we cannot contemplate face to face. Let us collect the many beauties and perfections which are scattered over the vast empire of the creation ; and, when their innumerable multitude strikes us with astonishment, we shall say to ourselves, that, compared to the perfections of their Creator, they are less than a drop in the ocean. Let us only consider what is amiable and beautiful in created beings, abstracting what is finite and limited, in order to form a more just and proper idea of the excellence of the Ruler of the universe: and, when the faults and imperfections of his creatures may have lessened our admiration of their beauty, let us cry out, If the creation is so beautiful, notwithstanding its defects, how great and worthy of

admiration must He not be, whose splendour is spotless, more pure than light, more brilliant than the sun!

Then, O my soul, collect all thy powers to give thyself up entirely to the contemplation of the most adorable God. Take no rest till thou hast soared even to the boundless perfections of Him, who is raised infinitely above every other, the most perfect of beings. Let thy chief study be to acquaint thyself with God; because there is nothing greater than God; because it is the only knowledge that can satisfy thee, and fill thy heart with a peace and joy which nothing can disturb: and it is even a foretaste of that more perfect knowledge with which thou wilt be blessed at the foot of his throne, and which will constitute thy happiness to all eternity.

MARCH XXX.

The Arrangement of the Seasons in other Plancts.

1

THE diurnal rotation of the earth round its own axis, and its annual course round the sun, are great advantages to us. Does it not, therefore, authorise us to presume that the other planets have equal advantages? Most of them turn on their own axis; and it is very probable that it is the same with respect to Mercury and Saturn, though we cannot observe their motion. All the planets move in their orbits round the sun; and even the secondary planets take the same course round their chief planets. Now, as the motion of our earth produces the constant vicissitudes of day and night, and the change of seasons, it is very apparent, that the same thing happens in the other planets. Venus turns round on her own axis in the space of 33 hours and an half. Mars finishes his revolution in 24 hours and a quarter; Jupiter in 10

hours; and the moon in 28 days. If then we divide the day, that is to say, the time during which this revolution is made; if we divide it (I say as we do with respect to our earth, in 24 equal parts, each of which is called an hour; the hours of Venus will be a little shorter, and those of Mars a little longer than ours. As for those of Jupiter, they will not be half so long as those of the earth. If the moon is 28 days in moving round its axis, a whole day and more must be in that planet what an hour is in our globe. It is also to be remarked, that the position of the axis of the planets is inclined, like that of our earth; from whence it naturally follows, that, during their course round the sun, their northern side is sometimes more, sometimes less enlightened. Is it not therefore probable, that, in all the planets, the revolutions of seasons, and the alternate length and shortness of days, take place as on our earth? But, it may be asked, to what purpose all these reflections! They would be useful if they only served to increase our knowledge! But they will appear still more important to us, if we think of the consequences resulting from them. May we not conclude from these, that the other planets also are inhabited by living creatures? All the planets are like the earth. They are alike warmed and illuminated by the sun. Thy have their night and day, their winter and summer. To what purpose would all this be, if those worlds were not inhabited? What an idea does not all 'this give us of the greatness of our Creator! How immense his dominion! How impossible to know all the wonders of his power and goodness! When we reflect on all these worlds, where his glory shews itself as much, and perhaps more, than on our globe, we must be struck with astonishment, and adore him with sentiments of the most profound veneration.

MARCH XXXI.

Paternal Cares of Providence for the Preservation of our Lives in every part of the World.

We know at present a great part of our globe: and new regions of it are still discovered from time to time. But no place has yet been found, where nature did not produce some of the necessaries of life. We know countries where the sun burns up almost every thing; where little is to be seen but mountains and sandy deserts; where the earth is almost entirely stripped of the verdure with which it is so richly adorned in our climates. There are countries which are scarce ever cheered with the rays of the sun, and where its beneficent warmth is rarely felt; where an almost continual winter benumbs every thing; where there is neither culture, fruit, nor harvest. And yet there are men and animals there, who do not fail of subsistence. The productions denied them by Providence, because they would have been burnt by the sun, or frozen by the severe cold, are supplied by gifts more suitable to those climates, and on which men and animals can feed. The inhabitants seek with care what nature has in store for them. They know how to appropriate it to their own use: and they thus procure for themselves all they re quire for their subsistence and convenience of life. In Lapland, Providence has so contrived, that an evil, in some respects very inconvenient to the inhabitants, becomes a means of their preservation. They have an innumerable multitude of gnats, who, by their stings, are a plague to the Laplanders, and from which they cannot guard themselves, but by keeping up in their cottages a continual thick smoke, and daubing their faces with pitch and tar. These insects lay their eggs