The Exiftence of G 0 D. 7 though their fpace would be equal in the c':mpafs of the Year as now, yet with pub- ~ lick d ifad ~a nrage. The !himng of the Sun wtthout mtetm1ffion, would be very hurtful ~ ro the Ear,h, and to JtS Inhabitants. And its long abfence would caufe equal mifchiefs by contrary qualities.. For the :'ature <:f Man and other hvmg Creatures cannot fublil't !ong in travarl, w1thcut repamng thetr decays by refl. Now the fucceffion of Day and Ni ght in that [pace, fitly tempers the.r labour and repofe. After the tmlfom fervice ot' the Day, the Sun renres behind the Earth, and the Night procures a truce from bufi r. efs, unbends the World, and invites toreflinits. deep filenceand tranqurh~y .. And by llecp, when the animal operations ceafe~ the ~pmts that were much confum ~ 111 the fi.:rvice of lhe fenfes, are renewed, aud muted, m ah:iO:anc~ to the vital facult1es; the B~dy isreflored,and at the fprin~ing Day madefrefhand a.lbve for n;w labour. So th~t the wifdom of the Creator ts as v1fible m the manner of th1s d1fpenfauon, as the thmg 1t felf. And 'tis an obfervable point of Providence in ordering the length and fhortnefs of Days and Nights for the good of the feveral parts of the World. Under the EquinoCtial Line the Earth being parch'd by the direCt beams of the Sun, the Nights are regularl y twelve hours through the Year, frefh and moifl to remedy that inconvenience. On rhe contrary, in the Northern parts, where there is a fainter refleCtion of its Beams, the Days are very long, that the Sun may fupply by its continuance, what is defective in its vigour to ripen the Fruits of the Earth. The'annualcourfcof the Sun between the North and South, difcovers alfo the high and admirable Wi{<lom of God. For all the benefits that Nature receives, * depends on >fObliquitaum· his unerri.ng conftant motion through the fame Circle declining and oblique, with refpetr tjus inttOniffr, to the Poles of the World. 'Tis not poffible that ~tore can be done \~ith Iers. From tJ:;:Jlft~ ~i~~ hence proceeds the difference of Climates, the inequahry of Days and N1ghts, the variety of Seafons, the diverfe mixtures of the firfl Qualities, the univerfal Inflruments of natura I ProduCtions. In the Spri11g 'tis in conjun{l:ion with the Pleiades, to caufe fweet fhowers, that are as Milk to nourilh the new-born tender Plants, that hang as the breafls of the Earth. In the Summer 'tis joyn'd with the Dog-Star, to redouble its force, for the produCtion of Fruits nece!fary to the fupport of Jiving Creatures. And Winter, that in appearance is the death of Nature, yet is of admirable ufe for the good of the Univer[e. The Earth is cleanfed, mGi!tened and prepar'd, [o that our hopes of the fucceed ing Year depends on the Frofls and Snows of Winter. If the Sun in its diurnal and annual motion were fo fwift that the Year were cornpleated in fix Months, and the Day and Night in twelve Hours, the fruits of the Earth would want a necelfary fpace to ripen. If on the contrary it were fo flow, as double the time were fpent in its return, the Harvefl but once gathered in the twenty four Months, could not fullice for the nourilhment of living creatures. 'Tis alfo a confiderable effeCt of Providence, that the fenfible World do's not fuddcnly pafs from thebighel'tdegrees of heat to the extremity of cold, nor from this to rhat, but fo gradually that the palfage is not only tolerable, but pleafant. Immediate extreams are very dangerous to Nature. To prevent that inconvenience, the Spri11g interpofes between the Winter and Summer, by its gentleheatdifpofing living bodies for the excefs of S~m111ter. And Auhmn of a Middle quality prepares them for the rigour of Winter; that they may pafs from one to another without violent alteration. To attribute thefe Revolutions, fo jufl and uniform to Chance, is the perfeCtion of Folly: • For Chance, as a caufe that works without deGgn, h'.!s no conflancy nor order in its • , effeCts. .If a Dy be thrown an hundred times, the fall is contingent, and rarely happens , ,:':i;?~ •. to be tWlce together on the fame fquare. Now the Alternate returns of Day and Night ~ «¥• ",;. are perpetual in all the Regions of the Univerfe. And though neither the one nor the ~rik'"""'' other begin nor end their Courfe twice together in the fame Point ; fo that their motion appears confufed; yet 'tisfo jufl, that at the fini!hing of theYear they are fuundtohave taken precifely as many paces the one as the other. In the amiable War bmveen them, th<:ugh one of the two always gets, and the other lofes the hours, yet in the end they ret!fe eqml. and the viciffitudes of Seafons with an inviolable tenor fucceed one another. :Vhoeverfaw the various Scenes of a Theater move by hazard in thofe juflfpaces of tm~e, as to reprefent Palaces or Woods, Rocks and Seas, as the SubjeCt of the All:ors reqmred ? And can the lower World four times in the circle of the Year change appearance, and alter the Seafons fo conveniently to theufe ofNature,and no powerful Mind direct ~ha~ ~r~at Work? Frequent difcoveries of an end orderly purfued, mull be attributed to a JUdiCIOUS Agent. The Pfa~ mil't guided not only by Infpiration but Reafon, declares, The Day ;s thi"e, the Night alfo if thine, thou madeft the Summer and Wir.ter. But this I fhall have occafion to touch on afterward. CHAP.
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