Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1849-03-07
From tho N. 4. Rcric,o.
fglI e SUPREME POWER.
z EDWARD EVERETT.

?
mads The same remark might will
e3aalsa5rce and justice be applied TO lht
undegt geolcgist. OF all the absur
dities eyer started, none more cxlrava.
| CANT cgabc named. than that the granc
and fa seaching researches and discove.
.ries DC eolngy ale hostile to the spilit O.
religion They seem to us, On the very
eontrar, 10 lead the inquirer, step by
step, more immediate presence
ofIhaekremendous Power, which could
alone oduce aud can alone account fol
the sptiIaitivc convulsions of the globe,
Iof3Wliaa4llc proofs are craven in c:er'
nal cllyactcrs, on The side Of lis bare
and cloud piercing mountains, or arc
wfougt into the very substance OF The
strata tliat compose its surface, and
whicllFFe. also day by day and hour by
hour, Syork, 10 feed tho fires Of the
yolca1usto pour forth IFS molten tides,
orto c6Tnpound tho salubrious elements
Eof1hea asineral fountains, which spring in
a .llogSsnd valeys.-In gazing at the
starry saxens, all glorious as they are,
.wasiis andef the awe Of their magni-
tudesI mystery of ftheir secret and re.
ciproca sinfuerces, the bewildeIing con.
ceptioa4 Of their distances. Sense and
scieneeAre at war.
The sparkling gem that glillers on
tho brow ofnight is converted by science
Iinto:a mighty orb-lhe source of light
and heEs,ihe centre Of attraction, the
sun Of gasys,em like our own,-The
beau!iisplan which fingers in the
western sky, when the sun has gone
down, heralds the approach Of morn
l;ing-tsEss mild and lovely beams seem
TO she'd Esprit Of tranquility, not un,
mixed ;asilia sadness, not far removed
| from de- ioiion, into the heart Of him who
| wanderss birth in solitude to beho!l lit
| is in contemplation Of science, q
cloudy .2tthere; world Of rugged
r. s-.; ;sl. 10: !. :,
we reason We calculate. We climb'the
| giddy scaiEold of induction up 10 The
livery stars We borrow the. wings o
the tIestanalysis and flee to tho up:
permost parts Of creation, and then,
ehnling onr.eyes on the ladiant pnin's
that twinkle in the vault of night, the
well instructed mind sees opening before
il in mental vision, lthe stupendous me-
cIanism of the .lieavens. lis planets
swell into worlds. lis crowded stars
recede, expand, become central suns,
and we hearth rush of the mighty orb:
that circle round them.
The banks of Orion are loosed and
the sparkling rays which cross eacl
other on his belt, are resolved into flood:
of light, streaming from system to sys'
tenn, across the ilIimitable pathway o.
the outer ;heavens. The conclusion:
which wnreach are opprcssiyely grand
and sublime; the imagination sinks under
them; The truth is 100 vast too remote
from the premises from which it is dc
Quoted; and man, poor frail man, sink:
back to tho earth, and sighs to worship
again, with the innocence of child Oh
Chaldena shepherd, the quiet and beau
tiful stars, as he sees them in the simply
city OF sense.
But in the province Of geology, there
a,o some subjects, in which the senses
seem, as il were, led up into The labora
tory Of divine power. Let a man Fix hi
eyes upon one ofthe marbleacolnmns ii
the Capitol at Washington. lie see
there condition Of tho car,l's surface
when The pebbles of every. size and form
and material, which compose this sngu
lar species of stone, were held suspended
in the medium in which they are nov
embedded, then liquid sea Of marble
which was hardened into the solid, lust
rous, and yariegated mass before his eye
in le very substance of whicllhe behold
record Of a convusion Of the globe.
Let him 90 and stand upon the side
Of the crater of i.Yesuvius, in the ordina
ry state Of lis eruplions, and contem
plates9he glazy streams Of molten rocks
that oozes quietly at his feet, encasn!
the surface oflhc mountain as it cool'
with a most black and slygian crust, o
lighting up lis sides at night with streak
Of Iulid FIRE. Let him consider the vol
canic island, which arose a few year
since in the neighborhood of Malta
spouling flames from the depth. OF ih
sen; or accompany one Of our own navl
gators from Nantucket 10 the .Antarll,
ocean, who finding The centre OF smaI
island, to which lie was in the habit o
resorIing. sunkin the interval of two 0
his voyages, sailed through AN openin!
in its sides where the ocean had loun'
its way, and moorcd his ship in tin
smoutsring crater of recently cxlln
guishe.l volcano. Or finally, let lrin
survey the striking plcnomcnon whic|
our author has described. and which ha
led us TO this train Of remark, a minera
fountain Of s5lubrious qualities, cfa TEN
persldre greatly above ,has. Ct tic SUI