the same argument as the above, we must
not forget that in all speculative reasoning there must be an assumption
of some kind, which ought to be demonstrated by proof, or a suitable
equivalent in the form of universal consent. Yet in the case of the God
of the Essay, we look in vain for the attributes with which Theists love
to clothe their God, and we can but perceive inexorable necessity in the
shape of rigid and unswerving laws, collected in one focus by Pope, and
dignified with the name of God; so that the difference betwixt a
Deist of the old, and an Atheist of the modern school, is one of mere
words--they both commence with an assumption, the Atheist only defining
his terms more strictly, the subject-matter in both instances being
the same. The only difference being, the one deceives himself with a
meaningless word, the other is speechless on what he cannot comprehend.
The Essay shows a scheme of universal gradation, composed of a series of
links, which are one entwined within the other--every rock being placed
in its necessitated position--every plant amidst its growth bearing an
exoteric similitude to itself--every animal, from the lowest quadruped
to the highest race of man, occupying a range of climate adapted to its
requirements. The Essay here is scientifically correct, and agrees with
the ablest writers on necessity. A German philosopher renowned alike
for rigid analysis and transcendent abilities as a successful theorist,
observes, "When I contemplate all things as a whole, I perceive one
_nature_ one _force _: when I regard them as individuals, many forces
which develop themselves according to their inward laws, and pass
through all the forms of which they are capable, and all the objects
in nature are but those forces under certain limitations. Every
manifestation of every individual power of nature is determined partly
by itself, partly by its own preceding manifestations, and partly by the
manifestations of all other powers of nature with which it is connected;
but it is connected with all, for nature is one connected whole. Its
manifestations are, therefore, strictly necessary, and it is absolutely
impossible to be other than as it is. In every moment of her duration
nature is one connected whole, in every moment must every individual be
what it is because all others are what they are, and a single grain of
sand could not be moved from its place, without, however imperceptibly
to us, changing something