that the fun is fixt in the center without any other but its diurnal rotation in 25 days: in this cafe we shall have the feveral primary planets revolving round the fun in an excellent and due order, by the exacteft rules of fuch a noble structure, fuch an admirable economy, and that is in times (as I faid) in fquare proportion to the cubes of their distances. So that we fee Mercury to perform its period in near 88 days: Venus (the next in order to the fun) its period in fomewhat above 224 days: then the earth, with its companion the moon, in 365 days: then Mars in about 687 days: next him Jupiter in about 4333 days: and latly, Saturn in fomewhat above 10759 days.

To this fo ftrict an order of the periods of those planets, we may add the confideration of the different paths of their periodical and diurnal motion: that they lie not in a very different plane, as quite acrofs, or the like; nor exactly in the fame plane, but a little croffing one another; the diurnal courfe lying in, or parallel to the equator; but the other in the broad path of the zodiack, at an inclination of 23 degrees.

And a glorious contrivance this is for the good of our globe, and doubtlefs no lefs for all the reft that fympathize in the like motion. For was the earth's periodical motion.

to be always in the fame plane with that of the diurnal, we might indeed be fometimes nearer to, and fometimes farther from the fun; but at the fame time mifs of those kindly increases of day and night, together with fuch useful directions of the fun-beams, whith the advances of the earth to one or other of the poles caufe: which two things are the real caufes of our feafons of fummer and winter, fpring and autumn, and not our being nearer unto, or farther from the fun. For thofe benefits (we at leaft that inhabit towards the northern pole) have at the contrary feafon, when we have moft need of them, viz. the fun's proximity, in winter; its greater diftance from us in fummer; as is manifeft from the increment of its apparent diameter in winter to 32, 47", and the decrement thereof in fummer to 31', 40".

And now for a conclufion of this chapter concerning the periodic motions of the primary planets, we may fay," who commandeth the fun to defcend through the winter figns? And who again caufeth him

to

afcend through the fummer figns? Who leads. him from Eaft to Weft? And who again brings him back from the Weft to Eaft? All these things are very wonderful, but to God alone poffible."

[To be continued.]

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externally, than the worm beneath our feet! What hidden beauties and excellencies moft probably there are in nature, did we trace the productions of the Deity with that accuracy they deferve; what discoveries of virtues and uses, yet latent, might poffibly be made?— But be that as it may, let us not fail to remark (for it will kindle in us fervent defires to fee him) what

little panniers made of mofs, or the down that covers the cocoa-nut. Thefe panniers they place on the Nopal, and the Cochineal infects, in a few days, give birth to an infinite number of young. The dams live but a short time after they lay their eggs, and are what may be called the firft produce. The young forfake the panniers, and difperfe themselves over all the ver

tively grand and charming, muft there be in him, who is the original fountain, the fource, the origin of all the beauty, goodnefs, and glory, manifeft in external nature! Thefe are, as it were, the glimmering out-lines of his own confummate and inexhaustible perfections! How happy will they be, who fhall contemplate him, as he is, and fee the king, in his brightness, every obstruction and intervening object for ever removed!

When a little infect is fraught with fuch elegance and utility, no thinking mind can fail gratefully to reflect on that inexhauftible bounty, wherewith the giver of all hath ftored his creation. For that the Cochineal is an infect, naturalifts now feem generally agreed. It was heretofore fuppofed to be a vegetable production, a feed, or the excrefcence of a plant; but it is now acknowledged to be the female of an infect living upon the Opuntia, or Indian figs, on the juice of which it feeds. This plant, which in New Spain is called the Nopal, is a fpecies of the fig tree; the leaves are thick, full of juice, and thorny. The inhabitants, who cultivate it, fweep from the leaves, at the approach of the rainy feafon, feveral little infects, that fuck the green plant. They preferve them in their own houses, and nourish them with the branches of the No

pal. When they are grown flrong, and the rains are over, they put twelve or fourteen of them into

that degree in the fpace of three months, as to be prolific in their turn. The fecond brood are permitted to live; but all their parents are fwept off, carried home, and killed the new offspring on the tree have alfo their young at the end of three or four months; but left they should all be destroyed in the rainy feafon, the inhabitants carry home their dams as well as their offspring, which is the third produce. A fufficient number of the young infects are preferved, to continue the fpecies of the next year, and all the rest are killed in hot water, or ovens, or upon flat ftones, on which the American women bake their bread. The infects that are deftroyed in hot water are of a brown colour, inclining a little to red; thofe which are killed in the oven are of an afh complexion, and streaked like marble; and fuch of them as are cured on the ftone are black, and feem burnt. Their infide is filled with a beautiful red duft. Thefe infects are fent to us dried, and half reduced to a powder, in which, without the help of a microfcope, one may distinguish an oval body, fcales, and paws, or little pieces of them bruifed, and a fmall pointed trunk."

Thefe infects are often, in the curing of them, not totally deprived of life, or at least they are impregnated with eggs, which the heat fometimes brings to life. For Sir Hans Sloane tells us, in his hiftory of Jamaica, vol. II. p. 153. That a Buecanier

a Buccanier affuted him, that once fome of his comrades, joined with himself, had taken a prize and there being in it much Cochineal, they lay on fome of the bags; and that (in confequence of their animal heat) it took life, and crept about. He mentions an inftance of the fame kind in another part of this work, and álfo tells us, that these infects are much coveted by the ants, the greatest enemies they have; to clear the fhrubs from which, the cultivators of them make ufe of foxes tails, as Herrera informs us.

There are two forts of the Cochineal, we are told; the Martigne, which is efteemed the finest, and the wild, which is lefs valuable; the difference being occafioned only by the extraordinary care which is taken of the one, by fupplying it with food of a proper kind; the other living wild, without the like care. This valuable commodity is brought from Mexico, and fome other parts of South America; where the inhabitants find it fo very advantageous an article of commerce, that they make plantations of the Opuntia, and regularly breed and manage their crops, fending fuch vast quantities of it to Europe, that it is computed there is no less than eight or nine hundred thousand weight annually imported from Spanish America; with us it pays no duty.”—

But we must not forget to remark, that this, curious infect ferves to other ufes than thofe of beauty and elegance: it is of great fervice to the human frame, and is applied conftantly in phyfic, not only as a cordial, but as a kindly and effectual medicine in various difeafes!- -Gracious Father of bounty, how kindly haft thou reached forth thy providential hand, and stored the earth with innumerable bleffings, to alleviate thofe oppreffive difeafes and maladies, under which human nature

labours!" The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth, and he that is wife," faith the fon of Sirach, "will not abhor them." The bark of a tree, the hard fub. ftance of an earth compacted ore, the body of a defpicable infect, are all-powerful in his hands, who worketh according to his own will, and whofe commanding word the moft obftinate diseases inftantly obey!

Every object in nature ferves to evince a creating, and fuperintending Providence. No man can fuppofe the Cochineal infect endued with thefe virtues by chance. But

as a further proof, that it was defigned to the ends which we fee it anfwers, we may remark, that the plant on which it feeds, exactly correfponds, if I may fo fay, to its nature; and feems as much formed for, and adapted to it, as the mul berry is to the filk-worm. Thefe fo manifeftly indicate defign, that no man can doubt it; for were we to find a watch, which we perceived noted the time exactly, but at length ceafed to move; and were we afterwards to find the key of that watch, which, upon application, we perceived exactly fitted the aperture made for it, and by a proper circumvolution gave its motion again to the machine: We fhould not hesitate a moment to fay, that there was a defigning hand in all this, and that the key was tainly intended for the watch by the maker of it: Let us apply this reafoning to the Cochineal and its Opuntia, and we fhall adore the wife Creator. Happy, unspeakably happy, in his providential regard: For if he thus hath taken care for the meaneft infects, infects too ordained for, and fubfervient to the ufe of man, how much more will he take care of those, who, by dutiful and filial obedience, endeavour to render themfelves fit ob. jects of his gracious concèrn?

cer

CHRI

S

IMONIDES being asked by Di

onyfius the tyrant what God was, defired a day's time to confider of it before he made his reply. When the day was expired, he defired two days; and afterwards, inftead of returning his anfwer, demanded ftill double time to confider of it. This great poet and philofopher, the more he contemplated the nature of the Deity, found that he waded but the more out of his depth; and that he loft himself in the thought, instead of finding an end of it.

;

If we confider the idea which wife men, by the light of reason, have framed of the Divine Being, it amounts to this: That he has in him all the perfection of a spiritual nature and fince we have no notion of any kind of fpiritual perfection but what we difcover in our own fouls, we join infinitude to each kind of thefe perfections, and what is a faculty in an human foul, becomes an attribute in God. We exift in place and time, the divine being fills the immenfity of space with his prefence, and inhabits. eternity. We are poffeffed of a little power and a little knowledge, the Divine Being is almighty and @mnifcient. In fhort, by adding infinity to any kind of perfection we enjoy, and by joining all the fe different kinds of perfections in one being, we form our idea of the great Sovereign of nature.

Though every one who thinks must have made this obfervation, we fhall produce Mr. Locke's authority to the fame purpofe, out of his effay on human understanding. • If we examine the idea we have of the incomprehenfible Su

preme Being, we fhall find, that we come by it the fame way; and that the complex ideas we have both of God and feparate fpirits, are made up of the fimple ideas we receive from reflection: v. g. having from what we experience in ourfelves, got the ideas of existence and duration, of knowledge and power, of pleasure and happiness, and of feveral other qualities and powers, which it is better to have, than to be without; when we would frame an idea the most fuit. able we can to the Supreme Being, we enlarge every one of thefe with our idea of infinity; and fo putting them together, make our com. plex idea of God.'

It is not impoffible that there may be many kinds of fpiritual perfec. tion, befides thofe which are lodged in an human foul: but it is impoffible that we fhould have ideas of any kinds of perfection, except thofe of which we have fome fmall rays and fhort imperfect ftrokes in ourselves. It would be therefore a very high prefumption to determine whether the Supreme Being has not many more attributes than thofe which enter into our conceptions of him. This is certain, that if there be any kind of fpiritual perfection which is not marked out in an human foul, it belongs in its fulness to the divine

nature.

Eminent philofophers have ima gined, that the foul, in her feparate ftate, may have new faculties fpringing up in her, which the is not capable of exerting during her prefent union with the body; and whether thefe faculties may not correfpond with other attributes in the divine nature, and open to us hereafter new matter of wonder and adoration, we are altogether ignorant. This, we ought to acquiefce

quiefce in, that the Sovereign Being, the great author of nature, has in him all poffible perfection, as well in kind as in degree; to speak according to our methods of conceiving; and when we have raised our notion of this infinite being as high as it is poffible for the mind of man to go, it will fall infinitely fhort of what he really is. There is no end of his greatnefs: the most exalted creature he has made, is only capable of adoring it, none but himself can comprehend it.

The advice of the fon of Sirach is very just and fublime in this light. By his word all things confift. We may fpeak much, and yet come fhort: wherefore in sum, he is all. How fhall we be able to

magnify him? For he is great

above all his works. The Lord is terrible and very great; and marvellous in his power. When you glorify the Lord, exalt him as much as you can; for even yet will he far exceed. And when you exalt him, put forth all your ftrength, and be not weary; for you can never go far enough. Who hath feen him, that he might tell us? and who can magnify him as he is? There are yet hid greater things than these be, for we have seen but a few of his works."

We here have only confidered the Supreme Being by the light of reafon and philofophy. If we would fee him in all the wonders of his mercy we must have recourfe to revelation, which reprefents him to us, not only as infinitely great and glorious, but as infinitely good and juft in his difpenfations towards man. But as this is a theory which falls under every one's confideration, though indeed it can never be fufficiently confidered, we fhall only take notice of that habitual worship and veneration which we ought to pay to this almighty be ing. We should often refresh our minds with the thought of him, and annihilate ourselves before

him, in the contemplation of our own worthleffnefs, and of his tranfcendent excellency and perfection. This would imprint in our minds fuch a conftant and uninterrupted awe and veneration, which is, in reality, a kind of inceffant prayer, and reafonable humiliation of the foul before him who made it.

This would effectually kill in us all the little feeds of pride, vanity, and felf-conceit, which are apt to fhoot up in the minds of fuch whofe thoughts turn more on those comparative advantages which they enjoy over fome of their fellow creatures, than on that infinite diftance which is placed between them and the fupreme model of all perfection. It would likewife quicken our defires and endeavours of uniting ourfelves to him by all the acts of religion and virtue.

Such an habitual homage to the Supreme Being would, in a particular manner, banish from among us that prevailing impiety of ufing his name on the most trivial occa fions.

Mr. Boyle, that great philo fopher, had the profoundeft veneration for the God of heaven and earth. The very name of God was never mentioned by him without a paufe and a visible ftop in his dif courfe; in which, one that knew him, moft particularly, above twenty-years, has faid, that he was fo exact, that he does not remember to obferved him once to fail in it.

Every one knows the veneration which was paid by the Jews to a name fo great, wonderful and holy. They would not let it enter even into their religious difcourfes. What can we then think of those who make use of so tremendous a name in the ordinary expreffions of their anger, mirth, and most im pertinent paffions? Of thofe who admit it into the most familiar queftions and affertions, ludicrous phrafes and works of humour? not to mention thofe, who vio

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