CHAP. V - APPLICATION OF THE ARGUMENT CONTINUED

Summary

Every obfervation which was made, in our firft chapter, concerning the watch, may be repeated with ftrict propriety concerning the eye; concerning animals; concerning plants; concerning, indeed, all the organized parts of the works of nature. As,

I. When we are enquiring fimply after the exiftence of an intelligent Creator, imperfection, inaccuracy, liability to diforder, occafional irregularities, may fubfift, in a confiderable degree, without inducing any doubt into the queftion: juft as a watch may frequently go wrong, feldom perhaps exactly right, may be faulty in fome parts, defective in fome, without the fmalleft ground of fufpicion from thence arifing, that it was not a watch; not made; for not made for the purpofe afcribed to it. When faults are pointed out, and when, a queftion is ftarted concerning the fkill of the artift, or dexterity with which the work is executed, then indeed, in order to defend thefe qualities from accufation, we muft be able, either to expofe fome intractablenefs and imperfection in the materials, or point out fome invincible difficulty in the execution, into which imperfection and difficulty the matter of complaint may be refolved; or, if we cannot do this, we muft adduce fuch fpecimens of confummate art and contrivance proceeding from the fame hand, as may convince the enquirer, of the exiftence, in the cafe before him, of impediments like thofe which we have mentioned, although, what from the nature of the cafe is very likely to happen, they be unknown and unperceived by him.