66 you free. A wooden ark faved the human race from the univerfal deluge. Abraham put wood upon the fhoulders "of his fon Ifaac. The wooden rod "ftretched out by Aaron brought the CC children of Ifrael out of the land of Egypt. Wood fweetened the bitter waters of Marah, and comforted the chil"dren of Ifrael after wandering three

66

66

days without water. A wooden rod "ftruck water out of the rock. The rod " of God in the hand of Mofes overcame Amalek. The patriarch dreamed, that "he faw angels defcending and ascending

upon a wooden ladder: and the law of

God was inclofed in a wooden ark. "These things were exhibited, that, as if "it were by certain fteps, we might a"fcend to the wood of the cross, which "is our falvation. The wood of the "crofs fuftains the heavenly machine,

The

fupports the foundations of the earth, CC and leads men to eternal life. "wood of the devil burns and perishes, "and its afhes carries down finners to the "lowest pit of hell." The very flightest relations make an impreffion on a weak understanding. It was a fancy of Anto

2

ninus

1.

ninus Geta, in ordering his table, to have services composed of difhes beginning with the fame letter; fuch as lamb and lobfter; broth, beef, blood-pudding; pork, plumbcake, pigeons, potatoes. The name of John king of Scotland was changed, into Robert, for no better reafon than that the Johns of France and of England had been unfortunate.

In reafoning, inftances are not rare, of mistaking the caufe for the effect, and the effect for the caufe. When a ftone is thrown from the hand, the continuance of its motion in the air, was once univerfally accounted for as follows: "That the "air follows the ftone at the heels, and ἔσ pufhes it on." The effect here is mifta

ken for the caufe: the air indeed follows

the ftone at the heels; but it only fills the vacuity made by the ftone, and does not pufh it on. It has been flyly urged against the art of phyfic, that phyficians are rare among temperate people, fuch as have no wants but thofe of nature; and that where phyficians abound, difeafes abound. This is miftaking the caufe for the effect, and the effect for the caufe: people in health have no occafion for a phyfician; I h

VOL. III.

but

1

but indolence and luxury beget diseases, and difeafes beget phyficians.

During the nonage of reafon, men are fatisfied with words merely, inftead of an argument. A fea-profpect is charming; but we foon tire of an unbounded profpect. It would not give fatisfaction to fay, that it is too extenfive; for why should not a profpect be relifhed, however extenfive? But employ a foreign term and say, that it is trop vafte, we enquire no farther: a term that is not familiar, makes an impression, and captivates weak reason. This obfervation accounts for a mode of writing formerly in common ufe, that of ftuffing our language with Latin words and phrafes. Thefe are now laid afide as ufelefs; because a proper emphafis in reading, makes an impreffion deeper than any reign term can do.

fo

There is one proof of the imbecillity of human reafon in dark times, which would fcarce be believed, were not the fact fupported by incontestable evidence. Instead. of explaining any natural appearance by fearching for a caufe, it has been common to account for it by inventing a fable which gave fatisfaction without enquiring farther,

farther. For example, instead of giving the true caufe of the fucceffion of day and night, the facred book of the Scandinavians, termed Edda, accounts for that fucceffion by a tale: "The giant Nor had a daughter named Night, of a dark complexion. "She was wedded to Daglingar, of the family of the gods. They had a male " child, which they named Day, beauti"ful and fhining like all of his father's. family. The univerfal father took Night and Day, placed them in heaven, 66 and gave to each a horfe and a car, that they might travel round the world, the t one after the other. Night goes first upon her horse named Rimfaxe, [Frosty

Mane], who moistens the earth with the "foam that drops from his bit, which is "the dew. The horse belonging to Day is "named Skinfaxe, [Shining Mane], who by "his radiant mane illuminates the air and "the earth." It is obferved by the tranflator of the Edda, that this way of accounting for things is well fuited to the turn of the human mind, endowed with curiofity that is keen; but eafily fatisfied, often with words inftead of ideas. Zoroa→ fter, by a fimilar fable, accounts for the Hh 2 growth

growth of evil in this world. He invents a good and an evil principle named Oromazes and Arimanes, who are in continual conflict for preference. At the laft day, Oromazes will be reunited to the fupreme God, from whom he iffued. Arimanes will be fubdued, darknefs deftroyed; and the world, purified by an univerfal conflagration, will become a luminous and fhining abode, from which evil will be excluded. I return to the Edda, which is ftored with fables of this kind. The higheft notion favages can form of the gods, is that of men endowed with extraordinary power and knowledge. The only puzzling circumftance is, how they differ fo much from other men as to be immortal. The Edda accounts for it by the following fable. "The gods prevented the effect of "old age and decay, by eating certain "apples, trufted to the care of Iduna. "Loke, the Momus of the Scandinavians, "craftily convey'd away Iduna, and con"cealed her in a wood, under the custo"dy of a giant. The gods, beginning

to wax old and gray, detected the au

"thor of the theft; and, by terrible menaces, compelled him to employ his ut

"moft