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Every part of creation designed for some useful purpose,.. Fixt stars conjectured to be suns which enlighten other systems of planets,..

Distances of fixt stars from the earth considered,

PAGE. 13

n. 14

n. 15

The opinion of Astronomers on the number of stars,...... n. 17 The pride of man unbecoming,....

Apostrophe to the Eternal Power,..

to Reason,.

The pursuits of mankind generally vain and trifling,

The duty of man to study the works of creation,...
Regularity of the planets' courses, .....

18

19

21

ib.

22

ib.

Of Mercury, the planet nearest the sun,...

123

The uncertainty. of the heat of planetary bodies being in

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Vesta, a newly discovered planet,....

Ceres, when discovered, her dimensions, &c.......

Pallas, the smallest of the known heavenly bodies,....

dimensions, &c.......

25

ib.

26

n. ib.

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Saturn's moons and times of revolution,...

Georgian, the most distant planet known in our systeǹi,. . .

--- dimensions and revolutions,..

his six moons their lunations,.

Solar system, dimensions of,........

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n. 30

ib.

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n. ib.

n. 31

n. ib.

n. 34

35

Comets are erratic planets of the solar system, and, by some
Astronomers, supposed to be habitable worlds,..

The wisdom of the Almighty dispenses all things,..

He sustains this world; all the variety of seasons and diversity of inanimate nature are of him; as also animate beings, whether of the sea, air, or land; instanced particularly in the strength of the lion-the swiftness of the horse-the lofty flight of the eagle-the glittering plumage of the peacock-the vast length of the crocodile -the enormous bulk of the whale the splendid plumes of the butterfly-the ensnaring art of the spider-the labors of the bee-and the sagacity and prudence of the

ant,

Crocodile, brief history of,..

Man, betrayed by pride, has foolishly presumed that all
things were created for his use,.....
Myriads of living creatures may be found on earth, air, and
water; all which were designed to enjoy happiness,....
Animalcules, a great variety of, found on the leaves of
every species of vegetables,. . . .

millions thereof not equal in bulk to a grain

of sand,.....

however small, possess limbs, muscles, heart, and senses, whereby they regulate their actions and enjoy life,.

ib.

n. 48

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Animalcules are not only wonderful in their formation, but wise in their economies,......

....

--- their existence but of short duration, yet sufficiently long for performing all the functions or offices of life, viz. to be born, seek proper sustenance, increase in bulk, arrive at maturity, propagate their kind, and to die,

The contemplation of nature, and the adoration of the Almighty Author thereof seems to qualify the soul of man for future intellectual happiness..

.....

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n. 58

n. ib.

n. 61

ERRATUM.

Page 34. lines 11. for, there are about five hundred,-read, there are on record about five hundred.

FRONTISPIECE.

URANIA,

The Muse of Astronomy, admonishing a proud, indoient

SCEPTIC.

THE

UNIVERSE;

A Poem.

THY works, ETERNAL POWER, by whom she sings,

The Muse attempts, and tunes the sounding strings:

To Heav'n and Thee her adoration raise,

And form the song devoted to thy praise!

1.

Around thy throne, the creatures of thy hand,

Spirits immortal, rang'd in order, stand,

Attend thy nod, fulfil thine high command:—

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And what is MAN, who dares dispute thy sway?

A crawling worm! an insect of a day!

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Vain wretch! t'ward Heav'n direct thy wond'ring [eyes:

Behold the SUN,* array'd with glory, rise.
Night and her gloomy train before him fly:
His race begins: He blazes through the sky.

* This grand Illuminator is placed in the centre of the plane tary system, dispensing the necessary light to surrounding worlds. Its body is eight hundred and eighty-three thousand, two hundred and seventeen miles in diameter; and, in bulk, one million, three hundred and eighty thousand times greater than the earth we inhabit. He revolves on his axis, from east to west, in twenty-five days, fifteen hours, and sixteen minutes.

Various have been the opinions of philosophers respecting the constitution and properties of the sun. The ancients believed that its substance was of the nature of fire, and that light was a consequence of that fire; and they called in the aid of various phænomena to support such hypothesis. But many of our mo dern philosophers (among whom we find LAMBERT, Knight, LALANDE, HERSCHEL, &c.) entertain a different opinion. They consider it as a body of light, perpetually emitting refulgent rays to the full extent of the solar system; which rays so operate on peculiar particles of bodies, that lie open to their influence, as to produce heat. Mr. HERSCHEL, in answer to the ancient popular opinion, of the sun's being a body of fire, states that heat is produced by the action of solar rays upon any calorific medium;

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