The Sun.
London, England, 1821-12-31 00:00:00

united in the most admirable harinOny ;" the'
simple, yet efficient, springs by which this most
complicated machine is set in motion ; the order,
the regularity, the evident adaptation of the
means employed to the proposed ends, all, and
more than this, must be the effects of mere chttn-C!
We perceive a most stupendous fabric,. in the dig.,
position and organization of which the greatest
possible sagacity is every, where discovered, yAl.t
we. mustinot believe that any one presided over
its formation, Wediscover beauty in the disposition
and in the arrangement of the parts ; design and,
order in the combination of the whole, and we
-must think all this to be. produced by mere
chance ! It is by chance that the eyes weie so
well adapted to the purposes. of vision, the ears
to,those of hearing, and all our senses to the va-
rious offices which they perform ! It would be
endless to enumerate all the follies and contra-
dictions into which the doctrine of the Atheist
must lean; suffice it to say, that BayeE, so well
known for his scepticism, asserts that
.the best ar-
guments in favour of Atheism are only a tiss.ne
of extravagancies, and of ridiculous contradictions;
an opinion in which VOLTAIRE does not hesitate
fully to concur. .
It 'is scarcely possible, therefore, to belie+e
that Atheists really do exist. There are, per-
haps, moments when the Atheist may be deluded
by his own sophistry, but this obscuratiou of. his
reason cannot be of long duration: in spite of
himself the light of truth will flash upon his mind,
and carry conviction into his guilty soul. Pride
will probably induce him still to maintain 'the
opinions he has advanced; but his life will he
spent amidst doubts and uncertainty, and his •
mind will be tortured by the dreadful alternative
Of total annihilation in the tomb, or the invincible
terror of the fate to which he may be doomed-by
the retributive justice of his offended GOD.-
BACON has justly remarked, 'that deep philo-
sophy must necessarily lead to the knowledge of
Goo, but that a superficial philosophy might lead
to atheism, because the latter,- instead of assum-
ing a bold flight, instead of taking a coinpre-
hensive view of things,' and of, 'embracing .the
links which connect the parts, witlea great First
Cause, rushes on heedlessly, contracts its obser-
vations, fixes its attention solely upon the appa-
rent disorder perceptible in secondary causes,
and thus losing sight of the whole., by attend-
ing only to the parts' it cannot perceive the
principle in which they originate. It is 'in-
deed possible that some traces of the Deity shoUld
escape our notice, but it is impossible to efface the
whole of them; and we cannot but perceive some
portions of the wisdom by which its Wonderful
operations are regulated. If there be parts in
Nature that do not appear, at first sight, evidently
connected with the First Cause the refletiin
Cause, I,e.
•
and attentive observer will be led gradually to
it by the re la iron- 1.... iiarcei vas awaeoef- -,e ma
universality of beings, and by_ tuetr.evident
de'stination to concur in the accomplishment
of some wise and beneficent- purpose. . The
mind of man, though capable of the most
elevated conceptions, is, however, too limited in
its nature .to embrace, at one glance, . the
whole "system' of the universe. -Because he. finds
I himself the first-of sublunary beings, lie imagines
1 that he is also the first 'of created. beings. Im-
pressed with an idea so flattering to his vanity,
and making his own comforts the standar:d of
what is good and useful, and his own 'reason
the sole judge of what is wise and desirable,
he rashly ventures to blame whatever 'he, per-
ceive§ in contradiction with his ideas of goodness
and-of wisdom. It is this pride of his heart, blended
With the narrow limits of IliSfaculties,whichare the
fertile and fatal sources of all his errors. Assuming
as an undoubted fact that his reason is the stand-
'ard of rationality, he refuses to believe' whatever
he cannot comprehend : and though his senses,
through the 'medium of which he receives all his
ideas, daily lead hiin into error upon the most
'trilling subjects, he still considers them as'infal-
lible guides on matters the most abstruse... With
no other: pilot but reason, he ventures forth or
1 the wide extended ocean of infinity, and is often
wrecked uPon the shoals of ignorance andprejudice
Limited in his faculties, the sport of error. ari
of doubt, a mere atomin the universe, he never.
theless condemns the whole of a work, of Whicl
he can perceive only the least considerable part
and blames merely because, he cannot compre
bend. ' Though. unable to attain any thing like
perfection, he constitutes himself sole'and corn
Petent judge of perfectability, and'rejects as de
fective whatever does not, accord with his notions
and'becauSe, in the partial view he, takes of th
universe,' re meets with apparent discordancie,
he does not hesitate to deny it to be the work c
a wise and intelligent Being. Ms reason cannc
admit the idea of a GOD, of a CFLEATOR, but i
can admit that matter should', of itself, sprin
'into existence; that chaos should produce order
regularity, and harmony I He believes all thi,
and yet, such' is the contradiction of his idea
that he attributes , the origin 'of all thin:
to blind and unintelligible causes,. which I
calls either nature, 'qr chance! . He would ha`
us believe, ttiat, by a fortuitous concurrent
'Of circumstances, 'life :ail animation •sprang of
of solid matter, motion out of rest, witliont ti
assistance of any efficient and external cans(
Surely such a doctrine is muciriess 'conceivabl
and Carries with it, if ' adopted, more contradi
tions, than the single admission, that theawor
and all its ' wonders., "the en th and all its varii
productions, man and ail ,his faculties, are tl
woek• of a wise, intelligent, and powerful Rein
ilhe cause and origin of all things, the ...Loral al
Creator of 'the Universe, the only Fountain
f Life, the GOD of Naturc ,and of Man .!.,.
l'at:dirigton.

A. P