MARCH XIV.

Uniformity and Diversity in the Works of Nature.

THE heavens above, and the earth beneath our feet, though they offer at different times varied spectacles, and a diversity of beauty, still from year to year remain the same, and lose nothing during the lapse of ages. At one time the face of heaven is dark with clouds or obscured by mists; then again serene and of a pure azure, or streaked with the most beau tiful colours. The midnight darkness yields to the silvery light of the moon, which in turn is lost in the glory of the morning sun. At one time the vast expanse of the heavens displays nought but gloom; at another, it is impossible to number the constellations that illu mine the regions of space. If the heavens undergo various revolutions, the earth is not less subject to change. Within a very short period the severity of winter has withered its charms, and rendered it one immense field of uniform sterility. But soon the returning spring, succeeded by the warm summer, will restore its beauty, bring back its delights, and open out its treasures; and autumn will follow to mellow the fruits that required a longer time to be matured. Again, what a varied aspect is presented by different countries upon this globe! In one, we see plains whose utmost boundaries no eye can penetrate, whose beauties no tongue can describe: in others, mountains whose waving tops fan the breeze, and at whose base extended valleys, watered by the richest streams and laved by the purest rivers. Here gulphs yawn, and precipices threaten; there the high hill dances in the reflecting wave, and the calm lake gently washes the distant shores; whilst afar off is heard the rush of the torrent, and the impetuous roar of the cataract.

Of the Works of Nature.

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Wherever the eye turns it meets with variety to inte rest; the mind is expanded, and joy and delight cheer the heart.

The same assemblage of uniformity and variety exists throughout the vegetable kingdom; the subjects of which all proceed from the same bountiful mother, and receive the same kind of nourishment: yet what an astonishing diversity in the different species, both as to form and properties! Thus we see the oak towering above the grass, and the elm looking down upon the humble primrose. All that bear a resem blance to each other in certain particulars are arranged under the same class. It is the same with regard to animals, which are likewise arranged under different classes according to their resemblances in certain points. And however man, by the superiority of his faculties, is raised above plants and animals, some things he enjoys in common with the meanest of them. Like them he requires nourishment, and like them cannot live without air, water, the earth, and the influence of the sun. Plants grow, ripen, increase, wither, and die; and these laws of nature extend to man and the whole animal creation.

If we proceed to examine the varieties of the hu man species, what a wonderful mixture of conformity and diversity we meet with! Human nature in all places is generally the same; and yet, through all the extent of the peopled world, we find that, in this multitude of men, each individual has a figure peculiar to himself, a physiognomy, and certain properties and qualities of mind and disposition, which form his character, and serve to distinguish him from all the rest of the species.

Naturalists, for the sake of accuracy and facilitat ing their researches, have formed three general heads or kingdoms; the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral; under which they arrange all the productions of

nature: these again are subdivided into classes, genera, and species. Thus every substance in nature is arranged under one or other of these general heads; and by being acquainted with the characteristics of any particular class, when we meet with a new pro. duction, we know whether or not it is entitled to a place in this class.

From this assemblage of uniformity and diversity, which is infinitely extended, arise the order and beauty of the universe. The diversity of form and properties between the creatures of the earth displays the wisdom of God, who has designed each to hold a certain place and rank in the creation, to answer certain purposes; and he has so ordered, that no one can destroy the relations and oppositions he has established amongst them. He has founded his government upon wisdom, and regulated every thing for the utility and enjoyment of his creatures. Confined as are the views of man, partial and contracted as are his thoughts, he yet is capable of knowing and feeling this truth; the slightest examination of the universe declares it to him; and the further he penetrates, the more he regards God manifested in his works, the more his mental powers will increase, and the less will he be affected by the contaminating influence of a base and sordid world.

MARCH XV.
Of Seeds.

VEGETABLES spring from seeds; but the greater part of them are not sown by man, and are even invisible to him: they are dispersed by the winds, fall upon different parts of the earth, take root, and spring up. For this purpose nature has furnished them with

different means; some she has provided with a light down, which renders them more capable of floating on the air, and being dispersed to different places; others are sufficiently heavy to fall immediately to the ground, and bury themselves in it without any assist. ance; and others, that are light enough to be borne along by the wind, are often provided with little hooks, which, laying hold of different substances in their way, arrest their progress, and prevent their being scattered very far from their native soil. Some of them are enclosed in elastic capsules, which, at certain periods, burst open, and shoot out their con.. tents. And there are trees which owe their origin to the birds of the air: oaks have been known to spring up from the care of ravens; it is supposed that, led by instinct, they make holes in the earth with their beak and deposit the acorns, which they cover with earth and moss, as a supply of food when other sources fail. Many seeds after being swallowed by birds remain uninjured, and through their medium become plants, thrive, blossom, and produce new seed. If to the care of man alone the fields were destined to receive their beauty, and the forests their verdure; if no seeds were to take root in the earth but those coming from the hand of man; how desolate would be our meadows, and desert our groves! But at the return of spring the soil again waves, and the odour of a thousand flowers scents the air, without the assistance of man. Yet these are not all the wonders which the consideration of seeds present to us; the whole plant is contained in one little seed: within the nar row compass of the acorn are concealed all the rudi. ments of the oak, the monarch of the fields and the pride of nations. And we further trace the wisdom of the Creator in the admirable structure of the seed, upon the preservation of which must ultimately depend the existence of the vegetable world.

How carefully, and with what precaution, are the blossoms and seeds of those plants which continue all the year in the earth enclosed in and defended during the winter by strong tunics of a curious texture! And plants which cannot bear the cold of winter are preserved beneath the surface of the earth in the form of roots, till the vernal sun causes them again to ger. minate, and flourish with renewed charms. Some seeds are placed in the middle of the fruit, others enclosed in capsules and sheaths, each being defended and protected in a most beautiful manner, at once displaying the power and the mercy of the Creator, whose hand is seen in every thing. The least of nature's works manifests his wisdom and goodness. And now whilst the busy husbandman deposits the different seeds in the earth, may I be seriously occupied with my God, who alone can sow the seed of righteousness, and bring forth fruit.

MARCH XVI.

Grandeur and Distance of the Sun.

Ir we have never properly considered the narrow compass of our earth, or are too ignorant to perceive our own insignificance, we may perhaps be benefited by considering that immense body which communi cates light and heat, not to our world only, but to many others. The sun, nearly in the centre of all the planets and comets, may be regarded as the monarch of many worlds, to which he imparts light, heat, and motion. This alone would lead us to conclude that his size is prodigious, and this opinion is confirmed by his apparent magnitude, notwithstanding his im mense distance from us. But the calculations of astronomers have certified us of this beyond the possibi