"One very stormy night lately, I could not clofe my eyes, nor yet read; fo I had recourfe to my pencil, for relief to my overburdened mind, and here is the refult of this vigil of forrow, at least as much of it as I can tranfmit in a letter.

"Yes, to my foul, thofe northern winds are dear,
That howling blaft is mufic to my ear.

Blaft, whofe fwift wing has fwept our alpine fnows,
The rocks of Morven, and the hill of roes,

Say, haft thou wak'd my wild harp's mournful ftrings,
Bear'ft thou the voice of forrow on thy wings?
Or haft thou rush'd along the facred shade,
Where thofe my heart muft ever weep, are laid?
From my dear native land begun thy flight-
Bring tidings to my foul, O blaft of night!
When fhall I view again my narrow vale,
And hear a voice in every whifpering gale?
See fpring's firft violets deck the hallow'd ground,
And trace my children's fairy footsteps round?
Then, in a tender trance of anguish'd joy,
To my fond bofom fhall I clafp my boy,
View the foft radiance of his full blue eyes,
Warm the fresh rofes on his cheek with fighs,
And, while his curls of waving amber flow
With varying luftre o'er his neck of fnow,
The dawn of manly beauty let me trace,
The fmile benignant of his father's face;
While hope aufpicious points her wand of gold,
Where future days the latent bud unfold,
And bid hereditary virtues bloom,

To deck with kindred fweets a father's tomb." P. 166. The reader will be pleafed to know that the daughter recovered, and the wifhes of the fond mother were realized. These flight fpecimens from a work, the primary charm of which is the gradual knowledge which it gives of a very eftimable character, can have no effect if they do not excite a defire to read the volumes. The observations of Mrs. Grant, whether on books or manners, are usually judicious; and we are much mistaken, if she will not have more or less of a friend in every reader of her Letters.

ART. VII. A Confutation of Atheism, from the Laws and Conftitution of the heavenly Bodies: in four Difcourfes, preached before the University of Cambridge; with an Introduction, Notes, and an Appendix. By the Rev. S. Vince,

A. M.

A. M. F. R.S. Plumian Profeffer of Aftronomy and Expe rimental Philofophy. 8vo. 157 pp. 4s. 6d. Deighton and Co. Cambridge; Lunn, London.

THE

1807.

HE fcientific works of this learned Profeffor have very frequently demanded our approbation*; nor has he been unknown to us as a Divine t. In the prefent volume the characters of Philofopher and Divine are completely united; and irrefragable arguments againft Atheism are drawn from thofe circumftances relating to the heavenly bodies, and particularly our own fyftem of planets, which are known only to the found aftronomer. The choice of fubject was peculiarly proper for fuch a preacher, addreffing an academical audience; where they who did not already know the facts on which he founded his reafonings, were to be excited to a defire of knowing them, and taught, as foon as poffible, to think rightly on the highest fubjects of investigation.

That the intelligent reader, even without a previous knowledge of aftronomy, may be enabled to understand his reafonings, the Profeffor has written an introduction to his Sermons, in which all the principal phænomena of the planetary fyftem are with great clearness explained. As we do not recollect to have feen elsewhere fo very fatisfactory an account of the planets, as they now are known to exift, according to the latest modern difcoveries, we fhall lay this part of the introduction before our readers, which will at once convey to many an useful inftruction, and explain the nature of this part of the Profeffor's book.

"The ancient aftronomers difcovered, befides the earth, five primary planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; but in the year 1781, Dr. Herschel difcovered another primary planet; and this he called the Georgian, in honour of his prefent Majefty. This planet is not visible to the naked eye, as all the others are. Reckoning from the fun, the following is the order of their fituations: Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Japiter, Saturn, Georgian. As the orbits of thefe planets do not differ much from circles, if about a point as a center you describe seven circles, whose radii are as 4, 7, 10, 15, 52, 95, 190, they will very nearly reprefent the orbits of the planets, fuch numbers be. ing nearly in the fame proportion as their distances from the fun. These numbers may be taken from a scale of equal parts.

But

See Vol. xvi. p. 627, and many other places, noted in our "General Index," published in 1804.

+ Vol. xiii. p. 258.

befides

befides thefe, there have very lately been difcovered, by fome foreign aftronomers, three other primary planets, extremely fmall when compared with the reft, and invifible to the naked eye; they are called Pallas, Ceres, Juno: thefe are fituated between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter; the two firft very nearly, if not accurately, at the fame distance from the fun; not that their orbits coincide, inafmuch as they have different forms, and lie in different pofitions; by which, provifion is made that the bodies may not interfere with each other. The diftance of the third is not yet determined. At prefent, therefore, we have the know. ledge of ten primary planets. All thefe revolve about the fun in the fame direction, that is, from weft to east. The paths defcribed by the planets are contained within a certain extent of the heavens, called the Zodiac, in the middle of which the fun appears to move, and to make one revolution in the course of a year. This apparent motion of the fun, arifes from the real motion of the earth. If you place a ball in the middle of a round table, to reprefent the fun, and carry the eye round the edge, you then refer the fun to the oppofite fide; and the fun thus appears to move round the table. Whenever the motion of the fun is there. fore fpoken of, it means the apparent motion. The path which the fun appears to deferibe in the heavens, in the course of a year, is called the Ecliptic.

"The fecondary planets are eighteen in number; one belongs to the Earth; four to Jupiter; feven to Saturn, and fix to the Georgian. All these revolve about their respective primaries, as their centers of motion." P. 2.

This introduction is divided into 28 fections, which comprife, in an easy form, a great extent of aftronomical information. The Sermons are four in number. The chief tendency of the firft is to perfuade men to be fatisfied with fuch evidence of the existence of God as the nature of the enquiry admits. The nature of different evidence, adapted to different fubjects, is thus stated.

"Matters of fact must be proved by teftimony. Theorems in philofophy, by axioms founded upon deductions derived from experiments. Mathematical propofitions, by demonftrations founded upon felf-evident principles. The nature of an agent, as the caufe, must be eftimated from the effect: and it may be further obferved, that we are not bound to anfwer mere difficulties, which, implying no contradiction, may fubfift with truth; be caufe every thing fhort of demonftration must be expofed to cavils." P. 42.

But the highest degree of moral certainty, founded on the mathematical calculation of probabilities, amounts fo nearly to demonftration that it, ought to be received as equivalent;

and

and the fact is, that the refufing fo to receive it is refufing to

hear reafon.

"Unbelievers, by refufing to acknowledge that rational evi. dence, which God has given us for the regulation of our conduct, withdraw themselves from his prefence, and then complain that they cannot fee him. Under these unfavourable circumstances, our hope must be rather to fave thofe from falling, whofe minds are well difpofed to receive the truth, than to reclaim the infidel. God has provided no remedy for a man's obftinacy. Speculative Atheism argues great ignorance, and practical, great folly." P. 55.

The fecond Difcourfe takes up the argument on the grounds affumed by the Pfalmift, "The heavens declare the glory of God." It begins by confidering the evidences of power apparent in the motions of the heavenly bodies; the power neceffary to produce fuch motions in fuch bodies, The accurate adjustment of many of those motions to each other is then flated, and fome moft remarkable inftances produced. It is juftly obferved to be "a ftrong argument in favour of defign, that the more accurately you inspect the works of the creation, the more nicely the parts appear to be adjusted to each other, and to be under the controul of fixed laws." P. 78.

In the third Sermon, thefe remarks are applied to the great law of gravitation,

"As each body, to ufe the common language, acts upon or attracts all the reft, and all the planets revolve about the fun, the motion which each would have, as arifing fimply from the fun's attraction, in conjunction with the projectile motion, is continually disturbed by the other bodies, and thence great disorders among them might be fuppofed to arife; and fuch as, in the courfe of time, might endanger the permanency of the fyftem. But no diforders of this kind are produced. All the variations from that motion, which they would have had in virtue of the fun's action only, are governed by fixed laws; performing their regular periods in ftated times; fome of which are accomplished in a few days; others require fome hundreds of years; at the ends of which the bodies return to the fituations from whence they de. parted, and are found in their orbits, juft where they would have been if no fuch difturbances had happened." P. 91.

It is in vain to attempt to analyze throughout Difcourses which are founded on principles fo truly fcientific; but it may be faid generally, that the great objects of confideration are the vast variety of bodies moving in our fyftem; planets, fecondary planets, or fatellites, and comets, which laft are fuppofed

fuppofed to amount to between three and four hundred, all moving at once, yet moving without confufion or any ill effect. All these things imply the greatest wisdom of defign; whereas, on the other hand," Atheism appears to reft merely upon an affumed poffibility, in oppofition to the cleareft deductions from the evidence of experience."

P. 46.

The general conclufion is, that in every way of furveying the creation we trace the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator, In feveral notes on the Sermons, and in the Appendix, the Profeffor argues powerfully against the doctrines and philofophy of Hume. In fome places, contemplating the magnificence of his fubject, he rifes into fublimity; and particularly in the paffage with which the whole concludes, and with which we also fhall conclude our account of this able work.

"We may therefore conceive the univerfe to be filled with created beings, enjoying the bounty of their Creator, and adoring his works. This benevolence of the Deity, in giving life to an almost infinite number of beings, muft raise our admiration, till we are loft in contemplating his goodness. That every individual should exift under his protection, and be regularly fupplied by his all-bountiful hand, with every thing which is neceffary for enjoyment, ought to make us very thankful and humble before him. And that every being in the universe should be under his care, and training up here for the further enjoyment of him hereafter, is a thought, which, if duly impreffed, would penetrate us with the deepest sense of gratitude to our Creator, and excite us to love and obedience. The disappearance of fome fars may be the destruction of thofe fyftems, at the times appointed by the Deity, when" the corruptible muft put on incorruption, and the mortal must put on immortality ;" and the appearance of new ftars may be the formation of new fyftems, for new races of be. ings, then called into existence, to adore the works of their Creator. Thus may we conceive the Deity to have been employed from all eternity, and thus continue to be employed for endlefs ages; forming new fyftems of beings to adore him; and transplanting the upright into the regions of blifs, where they may have better opportunities of meditating on his works; and rifing in their enjoyments, go on to contemplate fyftem after fyftem, through the boundless univerfe." P. 148.