the warmth is preserved in the same degree. In a word, nothing is lost, and all contributes to the good of the machine. From these circumstances it is, that, after a sound sleep, we are rested, refreshed, active, and strong. Will not these reflections make us sensible of God's goodness towards us? What preparation, what tender care, to procure us the blessings of sleep! It particularly deserves our grateful attention, that sleep is attended with an entire heaviness of the senses, and seizes us unawares, without being able to avoid it. The first of these circumstances makes it more sound and refreshing: the second makes it an inevitable necessity. And what admirable wisdom of Providence in the regulation of the muscles during sleep. The first which grows stiff is intended to guard one of our most precious organs, and that which is most exposed to danger, the eye. As soon as we grow sleepy, the eye-lid closes of itself, covers and protects the eye till we awaken. In other parts of the body, the muscles contract with more force, because their being relaxed might be dangerous and inconvenient. Let, then, the hours in which we are disposed to enjoy the sweets of sleep, be ever a time of gratitude towards our heavenly Father. Let us bless him, not only for the days happily succeeding one another, but for having so formed us, that sleep refreshes and strengthens us. us fall asleep with these thoughts, and let them be the first that come into our minds when we awake. Let AUGUST AUGUST V. DIVISIBILITY OF BODIES. WE may easily be convinced of the infinite divisibility of bodies, by the perfumes which the plants and flowers exhale. How inconceivably small must the fragrant corpuscles of a carnation be, which spreads over a whole garden! If this is not a sufficient instance, let us consider other objects in nature; let us cast our eyes on a silk thread, the work of a poor worm. Let this thread be 360 feet long, and yet it will weigh no more than a grain, that is to say, the seventy-second part of a drachm. Let us next consider, into how many parts a length of 360 feet may be divided, even so as to have each part perceptible. An inch may be divided into 600 equal parts, each of which is the thickness of a child's hair, and consequently visible to the naked eye. Of course, a single grain of silk contains at least 2,592,000 parts, each of which is visible without a microscope. And as those same parts may still be divided into several more millions of other parts, a division which may be continued always farther by thought, it is evident that this progression may extend to infinity. The last particles, which cannot be separated by human industry, might still, however, have extent, and consequently, are capable of division, although it cannot be done in this world. If we examine the animal creation, we shall discover fresh proofs of the infinite divisibility of matter. A great naturalist put pepper into a glass of water, and by means of a microscope, he discovered in that water a multitude of animalcula, which were a thousand million of times smaller than a grain of sand. How inconceivably small, then, must be the feet, the organs of sense, the muscles, the veins, and nerves of such animalcula? What must their eggs be, their young, the limbs of the young ones, their vessels, and the juices which circulate in them. Here our imagination is lost, our ideas are confounded; and yet nothing is more certain than what is said here. It is particularly worth observation, that the more we magnify, by the assistance of glasses, the works of nature, the more regular and beautiful they appear; while it is quite different in respect to those of art: For when they are examined through a microscope, we are astonished to find them so coarse, so rough and uneven, although they have been done with all imaginable care, by the best workmen. Thus God has impressed, even on the smallest atom, an image of his infinity. The most subtle body is as a world, in which millions of parts are met together, and arranged in the most perfect order. What astonishing wisdom is that which, in the little as well as the great, can operate with so much regularity and perfection! How great that power which could draw out of nothing such an infinite multitude of all sorts of beings ! O God! how forcibly ought these reflections to make us feel the limits of our understanding! The least worm, the least insect, the least dust, may convince us, that there are a million and a million of things of which we are ignorant, and cannot explain. Try, O man! to enumerate the parts of which the body of an animalcule is composed, and which is a million of times smaller than a grain of sand. Undertake to decide that degree of subtilty of one of those rays of light, several several millions of which can pass through a hole no larger than the eye of a needle. Thou wilt soon be lost in thy ideas, and thou wilt be obliged to acknowledge thy ignorance and thy limited understanding. How canst thou, then, be vain of thy knowledge! how canst thou presume to blame the ways of the Lord, and find fault with the plan he has formed! Canst thou flatter thyself thou knowest the millionth part of the beings which exist! Is it not here our duty, our glory, even to acknowledge our ignorance, and the infinite greatness of God ! Let us make this use of these meditations: Let us only reflect on the infinite divisibility of bodies, in order to feel the more forcibly the greatness of God, and our own littleness. This will also give us reason to admire the wisdom of the Creator: For, by means of the infinite subtilty of matter, all the voids are filled up, without interrupting motion, and the universe presents us a scene continually varying. ۶۰۰۰۰۰۰۰ AUGUST VI. OUTWARD CONSTRUCTION OF THE LIMBS WE judge, in general, no animals worth our attention, but those that are distinguised by their size. The horse, the elephant, the bull, and such creatures, appear to us worth looking at, while we disdain to cast our eyes on the innumerable swarm of little animals which people the air, the vegetables, and the dust. How many insects do we tread under our feet! How many caterpillars lars we destroy! How many flies buzz around us, without in the least exciting our curiosity! Nothing is more unreasonable than such inattention; for it is certain, that the wisdom and power of our Creator is no less manifest in the construction of a worm, a snail, &c. than in that of an elephant, a horse, or a lion. The body of most insects is composed of several rings, which link one within another, and have a part in all the motions of the animal. The essential character which distinguishes insects is, that, properly speaking, they have no bones. Even in this circumstance of their formation, much wisdom is shewn. The motions adapted to insects, the manner in which they are obliged to seek food, and particularly the many transformations they go through, could not be so easily performed, if, instead of these moveable rings which go to and fro, their bodies were connected and fastened by bones. It is observable in several insects, that they have the power to contract or enlarge their head, to lengthen or to shorten it, to conceal or to shew it, just as they please, and as their different situations require. The mouth of insects is generally provided with a sort of teeth or a trunk. This is necessary, both on account of their food, and the different pursuits they are exposed to. Many insects are blind, but they are made amends by the touch, or some other sense. Insects have two sorts of eyes. Those which are smooth and bright, are in small numbers; but the net-work eyes, like shagreen, and the cornea of which is cut faucet-ways, are very numerous. There are sometimes thousands of them. Neither of these are moveable, but their number and position supply that defect. The horns which most insects are furnished with are of great use to them. |