Where the rash youth their limbs exulting lave; Till sea-like grown, they now disdain all bound, Thro' Wisdom's paths, and Virtue's peaceful meads, Teach whom to love, and whom alone to fear. To scenes of boundless bliss, and everlasting day, The following lines by Dr. Hawkesworth, on this subject, are at once beautiful and pathetic : Through groves sequestered, dark and still, In silent paths the careless rill, 1 Ove nei falsi flutti Il bel Tamigi amareggiando intoppa. ARIOSTO Awhile it plays with circling sweep, And lingering leaves its native plain, When labour tires, and pleasure palls, Still let the stream untroubled be, No. XVIII. On the ALTERNATE SUCCESSION of DAY and NIGHT, and the VARIETY and VICISSITUDES of the SEASONS. Frigora mitescunt Zephyris; Ver proterit Æstas, Pomifer Autumnus fruges effuderit ; et mox Bruma recurrit iners. Rough Winter melts with vernal gales; HORACE. WAKEFIELD. IN all the works of the omnipotent Creator, we perceive that sublimity and simplicity are the striking characteristics. From a few principles he produces the most astonishing effects, and charms us no less by the infinite diversity of his operations, than by the skill and contrivance that are manifested in them. The sun and moon, the planets and the stars, are all governed by the same invariable laws. The single principle of gravitation pervades the whole universe, and puts every spring and wheel of it in motion. From the indiscernible atom to the vast and immeasurable luminaries of heaven, every thing is subject to its dominating influence; and from this active, invisible, and invigorating agent, proceed all that order, harmony, beauty, and variety, which are so conspicuous in the works of creation. Of all the effects resulting from this admirable scene of things, none can be more pleasing to the Contemplative Philosopher, than the alternate succession of day and night, and the regular return of the season. Sweet is the breath of morn, And sweet the coming on of grateful evening, mild. MILTON. When the sun first appears in the horizon, all Nature is animated by his presence the magnificent theatre of the universe opens gradually to our view; and every object around us excites ideas of wonder, pleasure, and adoration. After riding in all his brightness' through the vault of heaven, this glorious orb is again hidden from our sight, and we are presented with a new scene of equal grandeur and sublimity. The heavens are covered with innumerable stars: the moon, rising in clouded majesty, unveils her peerless light; while the silent solemnity of the scene inspires the mind with unutterable ideas. With what an awful world-revolving power Firm, unremitting, matchless, in their course; THOMSON. Variety is the source of every pleasure; and the bountiful Author of Nature, in the magnificent display of his wisdom and power, has afforded us every possible means of entertainment and instruction. What a pleasing succession of scenes results from the gradual vicissitudes of the seasons! Spring, summer, autumn, and winter, lead us insensibly through the varied circle of the year, and are no less pleasing to the mind, than necessary toward bringing into maturity the various produc tions of the earth. Whether the sun flames in the solstice, or pours his mild effulgence from the equator, we equally rejoice in his presence, and bless that omniscient Being, who gave him his appointed course. At one wide view God's eye surveys He shifts the seasons, months, and days, Gay Summer next, whom russet robes adorn, Then Autumn, who with lavish stores the lap of Nature spreads; Decrepit Winter, laggard in the dance, (Like feeble age opprest with pain) A heavy season does maintain, With driving snows, and winds, and rain; Till Spring, recruited to advance, The various years rolls round again. HUGHES. The succession of night and day, and the variety and vicissitudes of the seasons, are phenomena which depend upon the most simple and evident principles. The succession of day and night is occasioned merely by the rotation of the earth upon its axis. The earth turns regularly round this imaginary line once in every twenty-four hours; and as only one half of the globe can be illuminated at the same time, it is evident, that any particular place upon the earth will sometimes be turned toward the sun, and sometimes from it; and being constantly subject to these various positions, will enjoy a regular return of light and darkness. As long as the place continues in the enlightened hemisphere, it will be day; and when, by the diurnal rotation of the earth, it is carried into the dark hemisphere, it will be night. The motion of the earth upon its axis is from west to east; and this occasions an apparent contrary motion of the celestial bodies from east to west. The sun, for instance, seems to make his daily progress through the heavens from the east toward the west; but this is an optical fallacy, arising from the opposite motion of the earth: for, a spectator being placed in any part of the dark hemisphere, will, by the rotation of the earth upon its axis, be brought gradually into the enlightened one; and, as the sun first appears to him in the east, that luminary will, it is evident, seem to ascend higher and higher toward the west, in proportion as the spectator moves in a contrary direction toward the east; so that, whether the earth turn round upon its axis once in twenty-four hours, or whether the sun, with all the other celestial bodies, moves round in that time, the appearances will be exactly the same: but the latter notion has been long exploded as unphilosophical and absurd. Every planet, on which observations have been made, is found to have a revolution upon its axis; and, as this revolution is the cause of a constant succession of day and night to every part of their |