Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-01-07

OVcfpOWerlng the IMAGINATION by their bright
ness replaced the meteor knowledge which
had dazzed and misled mankind. When
the eye of reason first saw the earth which
we nhabit suspended, as a ball, in mid
way air" and pursuing its appointed path as.
the arbiter of times and seasons, that reason
must have acknowledged the mighty poten-
tate that weighed the earth in a balance,
and held the waters in the hollow of his
hand" When the moon took her place as
the satellite Of the .earth-the lamp to en-
tighten its darkness, and the magnet to regu-
late its tidcs-thc wisdom and beneficencc
of its author must have been felt as well as
recognized. When this mighty globe, TO
which the sun, moon, and stars seemed to be
subseryent-the heritage of empire, the
of conquerors, and the seat of
all human glory-when the globe shrunk in
to one of the smallest. and least important of
the planets which form the family of the sun,
the pride of philosophy waned at the disclo-
sure, and proud man learned for the first
time that there might be races of men, as
there were worlds of matter, more glorious
than his own, more lofty in their intelligence,
and more divine in their deeds and their az
iections. But when the telescope exhibited
to him, in the vast eXpanse of the universe,
new suns and new systems of worlds, inf
mite i'll number and variety, and sustaining,
doubtless, in their bright abodes, myriads of
living bengs-ncw regions of suffering and
Of glory-new spheres for the display of d-
vine power, and the diffusion of divine be-
nelicence-human reason trembled at the
display Of a boundless universe, and bowed
in mute admiration of its grandeur.
With views of creation thus unlimited in
its extent, aud infinite in its objects, and
with manifestations of power and wisdom
which scepticism burst not challenge nor
reason impugn, we might have expected to
find a race Of philosophers ever worshippng
the Great Spirit, dcvoutly ministering in his
temple, and followed by devoted band of
disciples, painting after knowledge of such
stupendous mysteries, and sacrificing wealth
and pleasure for its attainment. Nor would
the expectation have been unreasonable,
that knowledge so divine and inaccessible
would have shed its influence over the NOR
al nature of its possessors, instlling lessons
ofhunility and piety, Notifying intellectual
pride, and preparing the mind for the recep-
ton of other manifestations of the divine
will, and Of other truths which, though pre-
scented to us in a different phase, are not on
ly worthy of our regard, but appeal to the
highest and most enduring interests OF man.
Such knowledge watts the mind above,
A feeling from the Godhcnd caught,
To from self each sordid thought;
ray of him whs formed the whole
glory circlng round the soul.
Snch. however. have not been the results
ulgEfgIGTI D.
ment of the worlds wisdom has the Creator
been less known and honoured, than in that
which treats of the very heavens in which
he dwclls. The names of heather deities,
associated with vice and error, have been
given to the nobest works of one living
Gods and in the depths of a boundless uni
verse, and amid the glories of bright and re-
volying worlds, the " undevout astronomer"
has sought and found but the bubble repu-
tation. The tendency of knowledge acquired
in the pursuit of fame, to foster intellectual
pride, and overshadow sacred truth, is no.
where more conspicuously displayed than in
the history of that science in which it was
least likely to occur. In the survey of re-
glons far above his own, man regards him
self as at least an auxiliary to his Maker
When he discovers, he bears himself as if
he had created. When he analyses, he flat
ters himself that he has combined. When
he unravels natures magic, he mistakes
himself for the conjuror. When knowledge,
on the contrary, is ASSOCIATED from fame,
and when it rests chiefly on the testimony of
others, it takes its seat more readily in the
affections and being founded on faith more
than on reason, it enters into Il reader COM
bination with those sacred truths which dis
claim philosophy either as their Judge or
their Interpreter. Hence we can understand
why the great deductions of science, espe-
cially those of the sidereal heavens, eXer-
else so little influence over the minds of
those who are most dceply conversant with
them, and why the cultivators Of science are,
generally speaking, the least pious of the
intellectual community But, though the
pride of philosophy thus stands in fatal an
tagonsm to religious sentiment, science is,
nevertheless, the handmade ofreligion. The
conqueror who subiugates barbarous nations,
and the legislator who ciyilizes them, are
rarely actuated by love of suffering hui
manity or of social order The tools of a
nobler workman, they but crafty their thirst
of fame and power, and their names stand
associated with triumphs which they are not
permitted to appreciate or enjoy. Thus
does the pride and vanity OF man seek its
qualification even in the performance of the
noblest deeds, and the discovery of the
grandest truths; and while, in the page of
history, we ponder over the record ofacheve-
ments like these, we are compelled to adj
mire the deed, while we pity the hero or the
sage who does it.
But, from whatever motives, and by what
ever means truth is obtained, whether by the
proud ~. o..uner rom the remotest verge G!
space, or by the sceptical geologist from the
depths Of our own planet, it yields noble
tribute to the pious and contemplative soul.
Here it is the work of omnipotence, which,
though we cannot fathom, we adore-there
it is a monument of wisdom, of which we
comprehend the object and the design
Above us and beyond us, it is display of
power which coniers benefits upon our race
around us and near us, it is the DISPENSE
ton of individual blessings which we daily
enjoy, or of admonitions or Of chastsements
which we daily disregard In whatever
phase it is presented to us, it is truth divine;
and whether our emotions be those faston-
nishment and admiration, of love or of fear,
it is worthy of our deepest study-the doing
of the Lord, and marvellous in our eyes.