nd him, till they appear like a
scarcely discernible speck in creation, and contemplate thousands and
millions of stars and starry systems beyond the range of the unassisted
eye, and wander among the suns and worlds dispersed throughout the
boundless dimensions of space.

In his imagination he can fill up those blanks which astronomy has never
directly explored, and conceive thousands of systems and ten thousands
of worlds beyond all that is visible by the optic tube, stretching out
to infinity on every hand, peopled with intelligences of various orders,
and all under the superintendence and government of the "King Eternal,
Immortal, and Invisible," whose power is omnipotent, and the limit of
his dominions past finding out.

It is evident that a mind capable of such excursions and contemplations
as I have now supposed must experience enjoyments infinitely superior to
those of the individual whose soul is enveloped in intellectual
darkness. If substantial happiness is chiefly situated in the mind; if
it depends on the multiplicity of objects which lie within the range of
its contemplation; if it is augmented by the view of scenes of beauty
and sublimity, and displays of infinite intelligence and power; if it is
connected with tranquillity of mind, which generally accompanies
intellectual pursuits, and the subjugation of the pleasures of sense to
the dictates of reason, the enlightened mind must enjoy gratifications
as far superior to those of the ignorant as man is superior in station
and capacity to the worms of the dust.

In order to illustrate this topic a little further, I shall select a few
facts and deductions in relation to science, which demonstrate the
interesting nature and delightful tendency of scientific pursuits.

There are several recorded instances of the powerful effect which the
study of astronomy has produced upon the human mind. Dr. Rittenhouse, of
Pennsylvania, after he had calculated the transit of Venus, which was to
happen June 3d, 1769, was appointed, at Philadelphia, with others, to
repair to the township of Norriston, and there to observe this planet
until its passage over the sun's disc should verify the correctness of
his calculations. This occurrence had never been witnessed but twice
before by an inhabitant of our earth, and was never to be again seen by
any person then living. A phenomenon so rare, and so important in its
bearings upon astronomical science, was, indeed, well calculated