waters in the world, which is more sensible in the ocean, but not absolutely unknown in the Mediterranean, especially in its gulphs. Is it possible not to discern the finger of God in the bounds he has set to the sea, and in that order which he seems to have writ upon the strand: "[k] hitherto shalt thou go, and no farther, “and here shall thy proud waves be stayed ?"

“

Can we reasonably suffer youth to be ignorant of such wonders as these, or not instruct them in the other points treated of in physics, and which usually take up a good part of the second year of philosophy? When this study is neglected at this time, it is seldom afterwards applied to; but instead of neglecting it then, youth ought to be prepared for it beforehand, by being shewn it from their infancy, though in a manner suitable to their age; and this is what it remains for me to treat in the following article.

THE NATURAL PHILOSOPHY OF CHILDREN.

So I call a study of nature, which scarce requires any thing besides the eyes, and for this reason falls within the capacity of all sorts of persons, and even of children. It consists in attending to the objects, with which nature presents us, in considering them with care, and admiring their different beauties, but without searching out their secret causes, which properly belongs to the physics of the learned.

I say, that even children are capable of it, for they have eyes and do not want curiosity; they ask questions and love to be informed; and here we need only awaken and keep up in them the desire of learning and knowing, which is natural to all mankind. Besides this study, if it is to be called a study, instead of being painful and tedious, is pleasant and agreeable; it may be used as a recreation, and should usually be made a diversion: it is inconceivable how many things children are capable of if all the opportuni

[k] Job. xxxviii. 11.

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ties of instructing them were laid hold of, with which they themselves supply us.

A garden, a country, a palace, are all so many books which lie open to them; but they must have been taught and accustomed to read in them. Nothing is more common amongst us, than the use of bread and linen. How seldom do children know how either of them are prepared, through how many operation and hands the corn and the flax must pass before they are turned into bread and linen? The same may be said of cloth, which bears no resemblance to the wool whereof it it formed, any more than paper to the rags which are picked up in the streets; and why should not children be instructed in these wonderful works of nature and of art, which they every day make use of without reflecting upon them?

'Tis very agreeable to read in Tully's treatise of old age, the elegant description which he gives of the growth of corn. [7] It is admirable how the seed fermented and softened by the warmth and moisture of the earth, which kindly retains it in her bosom, sends forth at first a verdant point, which fed and nourished from the root, raises itself by degrees, and erects an hollow stalk, strengthened with knots; how the ear inclosed in a kind of case, insensibly grows in it, and at last shoots forth an admirable form, fortified with bearded spikes, which serve it as a guard against the injuries of the small birds. But to view this wonder itself with our own eyes, to follow it attentively thro all its different changes, and pursue it till it comes to perfection, is quite another spectacle.

A careful master will find in this manner, wherewithal to enrich the mind of his disciple with a great

[] Me quidem non fructus modò, sed etiam ipsius terræ vis ac na tura delectat. Quæ cum gremio mollito ac subacto semen sparsum excepit. tepefactum vapore & compressu suo diffindit, & elicit herbescentem ex eo viriditatem : quæ nixa fibris stirpium sensim ado

lescit, culmoque erecta geniculato, vaginis jam quasi pubescens iacludturè quibus cum emerserit, fundit frugem spici ordine structam & contra avium minorum morsus munitur vallo aristarum. De Senect.

n. 51.

number

number of useful and agreeable ideas, and by a proper mixture of short reflections, will at the same time take care to form his heart, and lead him by nature to religion. I shall give some examples, which will shew how useful this sort of exercise may be, better than any thing I can say upon the subject. They are not mine, as will soon be perceived; I shall borrow most of them from an excellent manuscript upon Genesis, which is in the hands of several persons. These examples will serve to shew, in what manner we ought to study nature in every thing presented to our eyes, and trace it backwards up to the Creator. I shall confine myself to the subject of plants and animals.

I. PLANTS, FLOWERS, FRUITS, AND TREES.

[m] The firmament, in which the sun, the moon and stars shine with so much splendor, is the first preacher, which declared the glory of God, nor is any thing wanting besides this book, written in characters of light, to render all mankind inexcusable: but the divine Wisdom is no less admirable in the smallest of its works, by which, it has in a manner vouchsafed to become more accessible to us, and seems to invite us to a nearer consideration of it, without fear of being dazzled by its radiance.

Plants.

The most contemptible in appearance has wherewithal to astonish the sublimest understandings, which notwithstanding can see only the grosser organs of them, without entering into all the secrets of their life, nourishment and increase. Not a leaf in them but is disposed with attention; order and symmetry are visible throughout the whole; and that with so prodigious a variety of fissures, ornaments and beauties, that no one perfectly resembles the other.

VOL. III.

[m] Psal. xix.

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What

What discoveries are made in the smallest seeds by the help of microscopes How great virtue and efficacy has God implanted in them by a single word, by which he seems to have given plants a kind of immortality. [n] Let the earth bring forth grass, and herb yielding seed.

Can any thing be more worth our admiration, thạn the general colour wherewith it has pleased God to beautify every plant? Had all the fields been clothed in white or red, who could have borne the splendor or rigour of their dress? If he had blackened them with darker colours, who could have been delighted with. so sad and mournful a spectacle? An agreeable verdure holds the mean between these two extremes, and bears such relation to the structure of the eye, that it refreshes instead of tiring it, and supports and nourishes it instead of exhausting its force. But what at first we should judge to be one colour, is an astonishing variety of shades. It is every where green, but no where the same. No plant is coloured like another, and this surprising variety, which no art can imitate, is farther diversified in every plant, which in its first shooting forth, in its growth and maturity, puts on a different verdure.

The same may be said of the figure, smell, taste, and uses of plants, both for nourishment and medicine. I shall make here but one more reflection.

If God had not given hay when dried and kept for a long season the power of feeding horses, oxen and other animals of service, how would the labourer or man of wealth have satisfied the hunger of animals of so vast bulk, and which are only useful whilst they have strength? Should we undertake to feed a man in this manner, or because the herb might be too dry for his chewing, should we give him broths and infusions of a great bundle of hay and straw, would this be able to keep him alive? This very dry herb suffices likewise to make other animals give twice a day a quantity of milk, which may supply the place of all other food [n] Gen. i. 11.

to

!

to a whole family. When we consider this wonder, which passes every day before our eyes without any reflection, can we avoid admiring the wisdom and goodness of God? He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man [<].

Flowers.

I transport myself from hence in thought to a field covered with flowers, or a garden well cultivated. How beautifully enamelled What colours, what wealth, and at the same time how great au harmony and fragrance in their mixture and in the shades with which they are blended? How fine a picture, and by how great a master? How lavish in the profusion of ornaments? From what source could the beauties we look upon arise? What is in itself the principle of so much splendour and ornament so richly diversified ?

But let us pass from this general view to the consideration of some flowers in particular, and let us cull by chance the first that shall fall in our way, without putting ourselves to the trouble of making a choice.

It no sooner opens, but it has all its freshness and lustre. Has art invented such lively, and at the same time, such delicate hues? Is any stuff so fine, or woven with such exquisite uniformity? [p] Is the purple of Solomon equal to the leaves in my hand? How coarse in comparison? How rough? How gross in the workinanship, and how different in the colour?

But though this flower were less beautiful in every part than it is, can we imagine a more agreeable symmetry in the whole, a more regular disposition in its leaves, or a greater exactness in its proportions?

One would believe, if we were only to examine the wisdom of God, and if I may be allowed the expression, his complacency in the composition of so perfect a flower, that it was to last for ever; but before evening it shall fade, and the next day be withered by the sun, and the day after perish. What should we then

[o] Psal. civ. 14.

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[p] Matt, vi. 29.

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