deavouring to win a race in his fleep, ftill ftriving after that which he cannot attain unto, so long as he expects to find a folid, fubftantial, and durable comfort in any thing but "the kingdom of God and his righteousness." Again. Is a dream ever wandering from one thing to another that has no connection with it, and patched up of a thousand inconfiftences, without beginning, middle, or end? Not more fo than the life of him, who, being devoted to the world, and at the mercy of his paffions, is now in full chafe after one shadow, now after another; fo continually varying and changing, and yet withal fo uniformly trifling and infignificant in all his fentiments and proceedings, that were the tranfactions of his days noted down in a book, it may be questioned, whether a dream would not appear, upon the comparison, to be a fenfible and regular composition. • Once more. Is a dream fleeting and tranfitory, infomuch that a whole night paffeth away in it as one hour, nay as one minute, fince, during fleep, we have no idea of the fucceffion of time? And what is a life of fourscore years, when looked back upon?" It is but as yesterday, feeing it is past as a watch in the night." - Was [were] the task enjoined us, to defcribe that dif appointment and wretched emptinefs which the miferably deceived foul of him who lives and dies in carnality and worldlymindedness will experience upon the moment of her feparation from the body, what words could we find for the purpose, like thefe of the prophet Ifaiah?" It fhall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and behold he eateth; but he awaketh, and his foul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and behold he drinketh; but he awaketh, and behold he is faint, and his foul bath appetite," remaining altogether unsatisfied with the pleasures which he seemed for a while to enjoy. Such a ftate of delufion is the ftate of the world; fo vain, fo incoherent, fo tranfitory, are the fchemes and defigns of worldly. men: and however important they may appear to the projectors of them, at the time, yet most certain it is, that what the Scripture faith of Pharaoh, may be said, with equal truth, at the death of every man, who has spent his days in things pertaining to this life only; "So he awoke, and behold, it was a dream!" In defcribing the circumstances of our Saviour's fecond coming, and the end of the world, the author proceeds in this manner: 1 The figns which are to precede that appearance, and like fo many heralds to prepare the way for it, fhall be eminently calculated for the purpose. Strange and portentous phænomena fhall fhall caufe a fearful looking-for of judgment, while every part of the creation fhall discover horrible fymptoms of it's approaching diffolution. The heavens, thofe most beautiful and glorious of the works of God, fhall fhrink at the prospect of the fire in which they are to melt; and the powers of the heavens, which fuftain the world, shall be shaken, as the leaves of the wood are fhaken by a mighty wind. The fun, that marvellous inftrument, that fountain of light, that heart of the system, whence are the iffues of life, and health, and joy, fhall fuddenly ceafe from fhining, and by that means depriv ing the moon of her borrowed brightness, shall leave the aftonished inhabitants of the world in darkness and the fhadow of death. The ftars, quitting their stations and courses, and falling in wild diforder on each other, fhall increase the horrors of the night spread over the world, an image of the darkness foon to receive the wicked for ever. The fea meanwhile will rise into vast mountains, and roll itself upon the fhore, with the moft tremendous and terrifying noise.' Here is an affemblage of great and ftriking images; the fun extinguished, and the stars falling on one another. But as this is a catastrophe beyond the sphere of human knowlege, it would be much better to use the words of fcripture, than to explain them according to our own vague and imperfect notions. In delineating these tremendous circumftances of the laft day, we may give the poet a licence to range through the regions of fancy but we cannot allow a preacher of the gospel to advance a step beyond the bounds of revelation. We have seen feveral writers on this fubject, who, among other wild and fantastic images, have reprefented human duft and broken bones, darkening the air, and flying from country to country*, Dr. Horne, in his defcription, is more cautious; yet he certainly advances to the utmoft limits of propriety. An Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of the Earth; deduced from Facts and the Laws of Nature. To which is added an Appendix, containing fome general Obfervations on the Strata in Derbyshire. By John Whitehurst. 410. 125. boards. Robinson. HE feveral theories which have been hitherto invented con- Young, Ogilvie, Davies, &c. See Crit. Rev. vol, xxii. p. 212. variety of observations on the ftrata in Derbyshire he is en abled to draw general conclufions, which lead to the ascertainment of those laws of nature that appear to have governed the material system in the formation of the terraqueous globe. He begins with obferving, that upon the figure of the earth, which fir Ifaac Newton demonftrates to be an oblate fpheroid, and upon the coincidence of this propofition with the laws of gravity, fluidity, and centrifugal force, the whole of the inquiry muft ftand or fall; for though there be innumerable facts which ferve to illuftrate the original ftate of the earth, yet its oblate fpheroidical figure may be confidered as the only natural datum upon which the inveftigation can be conducted, and likewise as the only test that can evince the truth of the inquiry. To facilitate the folution of the problem, Mr. Whitehurst presents his readers with two preliminary propofitions; the firft of which is, that, according to the univerfal law of gravitation, the constituent parts of all bodies attract each other: whence arifes a common centre of gravity, which so governs their component parts, as to cause all such as are fluid and at reft, to affume fpherical forms. The other propofition is, that, according to the univerfal laws of motion, the conftituent parts of all bodies, which revolve upon their axes, require a centrifugal force, in proportion to their velocities: therefore, as their respective distances from their axes of motion, so are their velocities, and likewise their centrifugal force. 6 • Such, fays our author, are the confequences arifing from the unalterable laws of gravity, fluidity, and centrifugal force; and therefore fince there are no other laws or principles in nature yet known, whence bodies can acquire oblate fpheroidical forms, it evidently follows, that all oblate fpheroidical bodies have turned round their axes in a ftate of fluidity, although they may be firm and folid in their present state. Therefore, since the figure of the earth has been demonftrated to be an oblate fpheroid-and likewife, that its equatorial diameter exceeds its polar, in proportion to the velocity of its diurnal rotation; it neceffarily follows, that its oblate fpheroidical form muft have been acquired by revolving on its axis in a state of fluidity. Now fince it appears, that the figure of the earth fo perfectly coincides with the laws of motion, may we not conclude, that its diurnal rotation has fuffered no change or variation; but, according to the immutable laws of nature, it has performed equal rotations in equal times, throughout all ages of the world." The author next enquires whether the fluidity of the earth was owing to any diffolvent principle, or to the first affemblage of its component parts. The earth, he argues, muft have been brought into exiftence either in a folid or in fluid. ftate. If the former, it must have been diffolved, and this by fome univerfal diffolvent principle. But no fuch principle being known to exift, he thinks it reafonable to conclude, that the fluidity of the earth was owing to the firft affemblage of its component parts. Having established it as a principle, that the earth was originally in a fluid ftate, the author next endeavours to afcertain the confequences neceffarily arifing from this condition. The fluidity of the earth, he cbferves, evidently fhews, that the particles of matter which now compofe the strata and all other folid bodies, were not originally united, or fixed by cohefion, but were actually in a state of feparation, like the particles of fugar or falt fufpended in water; it being an acknowleged truth, that the component parts of the most dense bodies become fufpended, in whatever menftrua they are diffolved. In the third chapter the author enquires, whether the chaos was inftantaneous, or progreflively formed into a habitable world. After producing a variety of inftances, to prove that the operations of nature are progreffive in the formation of ftoes and minerals, and likewife in all other cafes, as far as human reafon has hitherto been able to difcover, he obferves there is strong prefumption to conclude, that the earth was brought to maturity from a chaotic mass, by the fame univerfal laws, in a regular uniform progreffion. In the fucceeding chapter our author examines, whether the component parts of the chaos were created homogeneous or heterogeneous. Which ever of thefe had been the cafe, he obferves, that according to the immutable laws of nature, the component parts of matter must have invariably remained in one univerfal ftate to the end of time. But it being a felfevident truth, that the parts of the earth are heterogeneous, or governed by different laws of attraction; and it being alfo admitted, that thofe laws are immutable, Mr. Whitehurft urges the reasonableness of the conclufion, that the component parts of the chaos were heterogeneous, or endued with peculiar laws of attraction; though equally governed by one and the fame law of univerfal gravitation. The enquirer then proceeds to inveftigate the general laws of attraction, with the view of tracing their operations in forming the chaotic mafs into a habitable world. VOL. XLVI. Nov. 1778. Bb • The The first operation which prefents itself, fays he, to our conception is the figure of the earth for the fluid mafs no fooner began to revolve upon its axis, than its component parts began to recede from their axes of motion, and thus continued till the two forces were equally balanced, and the earth had acquired its prefent oblate fpheroidical form. The component parts being now arrived at a state of reft, with respect to the general laws of motion, began a secondoperation by means of their affinities; for particles of a similar nature attract each other more powerfully than those of a contrary affinity or quality. Hence particles of air united with thofe of air: thofe of water with water; and thofe of earth with earth; and with their union commenced their specific gravities." The uniform fufpenfion of the component parts being thus deftroyed by the union of fimilar particles, those bodies which were the most dense began their approach towards the center of gravity, and the others towards the furface. Thus commenced the feparation of the chaotic mass into air, water, earth, &c. Now as air is eight hundred times lighter than water, it feems to follow, by the laws of ftatics, that it became freed from the general mafs in a like proportion of time, fooner than water, and formed a muddy impure atmosphere. • The process of feparation ftill goes on, and the earth confolidates every day more and more towards its centre, and its furface becomes gradually covered with water, until one univerfal fea prevailed over the globe, perfectly pure and fit for animal life. Thus, by the union of fimilar particles, the component parts of the atmosphere and the ocean feem to have been feparated from the general mafs, affembled together, and furrounded the terraqueous globe. To the peculiar laws of attraction may likewise be ascribed that fameness of quality which prevails in ftrata of different denominations, as calcarious, argillaceous, &c. and also the affemblage of all other particles into felect bodies of metals, minerals, falts, talks, fpars, fluors, cryftals, diamonds, rubies, amethyfts, &c. and many other phenomena in the nasural world. Having thus defined the general laws or principles by which the component parts of the chaos were feparated and arranged into the different claffes of air, water, &c. it may not be improper to remark, that as the fun is the common center of gravity or the governing principle in the planetary fyftem, |