CHAP. II - On the Vastness of the Universe

Summary

1. The aspect of the world, even without any of the peculiar lights which science throws upon it, is fitted to give us an idea of the greatness of the power by which it is directed and governed, far exceeding any notions of power and greatness which are suggested by any other contemplation. The number of human beings who surround us—the various conditions requisite for their life, nutrition, well-being, all fulfilled;—the way in which these conditions are modified, as we pass in thought to other countries, by climate, temperament, habit;—the vast amount of the human population of the globe thus made up;—yet man himself but one among almost endless tribes of animals;—the forest, the field, the desert, the air, the ocean, all teeming with creatures whose bodily wants are as carefully provided for as his;—the sun, the clouds, the winds, all attending, as it were, on these organized beings;—a host of beneficent energies, unwearied by time and succession, pervading every corner of the earth;—this spectacle cannot but give the contemplator a lofty and magnificent conception of the Author of so vast a work, of the Ruler of so wide and rich an empire, of the Provider for so many and varied wants, the Director and Adjuster of such complex and jarring interests.