days that had gone before, has as its special object the moral elevation and final redemption of man. And over it no evening is represented in the record as falling, for its special work is not yet complete. Such seems to have been the sublime panorama of creation exhibited in vision of old to "The shepherd who first taught the chosen seed, In the beginning how the heavens and earth and, rightly understood, I know not a single scientific truth that militates against even the minutest or least prominent of its details. THOMAS DICK, 1774-1857. FEW authors of the nineteenth century have a higher claim upon the respect and gratitude of the world than the venerable Christian philosopher, Dr. Thomas Dick. He was born near Dundee, on the 24th of November, 1774. His father, a linen manufacturer, was distinguished no less for his intelligence than for his eminent Christian character; and his mother, a woman of exemplary piety, taught him to read the New Testament before he entered any school thus he had the early advantages of the best of all schools,—a truly Christian home. A simple incident early directed the studies of Dr. Dick to astronomy. When only nine years old, while walking in his father's garden in the evening, his attention was directed by a maid-servant to the north, which was quite suddenly illuminated by the Aurora Borealis. He was struck with amazement as well as terror; and so powerful was the impression made upon his mind that he was early led to make eager inquiries for such books as would reveal to him some of the mysteries of astronomy and meteorology; and he actually constructed a rude telescope himself, by which he could see the rings of Saturn. His father, seeing the strong bent of his son's mind, had good sense enough not to keep him any longer in his factory, and at the age of sixteen he began to study Latin, with the view of entering the university. In 1794 he became a student of the University of Edinburgh, and in the spring of 1795 was nominated teacher to the Orphans' Hospital in that city. Here he continued two years, and then left to pursue his academical studies. In 1801, having gone through the regular course of study as a student of divinity in the Secession Church, he obtained his license and began to preach, and for several years officiated in different parts of Scotland. On being invited to superintend a school connected with the Secession Church at Methven, he accepted the call. Here he instituted classes for the teaching of the sciences to the people, and projected the plan of those libraries for the working classes which are now so common in England. After ten years of gratifying and successful labor at Methven, he removed to an educational establishment at Perth, and during ten more years he taught, studied, and wrote, and finally built his little cottage on the high grounds of Broughty Ferry, near Dundee, where he retired "to hold communion with the stars," and where he died on the 29th of July, 1857, in the eighty-third year of his age. Dr. Dick has been peculiarly styled the "Christian Philosopher," from his efforts to demonstrate the compatibility and harmony of all true philosophy with the Christian plan of redemption and the truth of the life to come, and from the success with which he has explained the philosophy of religion. The inquiries of this patient and laborious philosopher, extending over the whole fields of physical and moral science, have been so varied and so subservient to the cause of sound morality and religion, that he acquired during his life a celebrity deservedly extensive, and won for himself a high place in the estimation of all good men.2 THE TENDENCY OF KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge has a tendency to unite the hearts of all who are engaged in its pursuit: it forms a bond of union among its votaries more firm and permanent than that which unites princes and statesmen, especially if it is conjoined with Christian principles and virtuous dispositions. Congeniality of sentiments and similarity of pursuits gradually weaken the force of vulgar prejudices, and tend to demolish those barriers which the jealousies of nations have thrown around each other. True philosophers, whether English, Swedish, Russian, Swiss, German, or Italian, maintain an intimate and affectionate correspondence with each other on every subject of literature and science, notwithstanding the antipathies of their respective nations. It is a well-known fact that, during the late war, when political animosities ran so high, the National Institute of France announced prizes for the discussion of scientific questions, and invited the learned in other nations, not even excepting the English, to engage in the competition; and one of our countrymen-Sir Humphry Davyactually obtained one of the most valuable and distinguished of these honorary awards. When knowledge is conjoined with a recognition of the Christian precept, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," its pos 1 In 1837 Dr. Dick visited London, where he published his Celestial Scenery. About the same time he visited Paris, and embraced the opportunity of visiting the observatory there. Shortly after this the degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by the Faculty and Trustees of Union College, Schenectady, New York. Moral Improvement of Mankind, 1835; 6. Christian Beneficence contrasted with Covetousness, 1836; 7. Celestial Scenery, 1838; 8. The Sidereal Heavens, 1840; 9. The Practical Astronomer, 1845; 10. The Solar System, 1846; 11. The Atmosphere and Atmospherical Phenomena, 1848; 12. The Telescope and Microscope, 1851. 2 The following is, I believe, a correct list (The three last have been published by the of Dr. Dick's works in the order of publica- London Religious Tract Society.) Besides tion:-1. The Christian Philosopher, or the these, Dr. Dick has written a great deal for Connection of Science with Religion, 1823; 2. various periodicals.-on Education, on the The Philosophy of Religion, or an Illustration Attributes of the Deity, on the Influence of of the Moral Laws of the Universe, 1825; 3. The Periodical Publications, on Literary and PhiPhilosophy of a Future State, 1828; 4. The Im-losophical Associations, &c. &c. Several of his provement of Society by the Diffusion of Knowledge, 1833; 5. On the Mental Illumination and volumes have been translated into other lan guages, and the Solar System into the Chinese. sessor will easily be made to enter into such considerations as the following, and to feel their force :-That all men, to whatever nation or tribe they belong, are the children of one Almighty Parent, endowed with the same corporeal organs, the same intellectual powers, and the same lineaments of the Divine image,— that they are subject to the same animal and intellectual wants, exposed to the same accidents and calamities, and susceptible of the same pleasures and enjoyments, that they have the same capacities for attaining to higher degrees of knowledge and felicity, and enjoy the same hopes and prospects of a blessed immortality, that God distributes among them all thousands of benefits, embellishing their habitations with the same rural beauties, causing the same sun to enlighten them, the same vital air to make their lungs play, and the same rain and dews to irrigate their ground and ripen their fields to harvest,-that they are all capable of performing noble achievements, heroic exploits, vast enterprises; of displaying illustrious virtues, and of making important discoveries and improvements,-that they are all connected together by numerous ties and relations, preparing for each other the bounties of nature and the productions of art, and conveying them by sea and land from one country to another; one nation furnishing tea, another sugar, another wine, another silk, another cotton, and another distributing its manufactures in both hemispheres of the globe,-in short, that they are all under the moral government of the same omnipotent Being, who "hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of all the earth, who hath determined the boundaries of their habitations," who carries them yearly around the centre of light and heat, and who "gives them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and gladness." How various, then, the ties, how sacred and indissoluble the bonds, which should unite men of all nations! Every man, whether he be a Jew or a Greek, a barbarian or a Scythian, a Turk or a Frenchman, a German or a Swede, a Hottentot or an Indian, an Englishman or a Chinese, is to be considered as our kinsman and our brother, and, as such, ought to be embraced with benevolence and affection. In whatever region of the globe he resides, whatever customs or manners he adopts, and to whatever religious system he adheres, he is a member of the same family to which we all belong. And shall we feel indifferent to our brethren, shall we indulge resentment and hostility towards them, because they are separated from us by a river, by a channel, by an arm of the sea, by a range of mountains, or by an arbitrary line drawn by the jealousy of despots, or because their government and policy are different from ours? Ought we not, on the contrary, to take a cordial interest in every thing that concerns them, to rejoice in their prosperity, to feel compassion on ac count of the ravages, desolation, and misery which error and folly, vice and tyranny, may have produced among them, and to alleviate, to the utmost of our power, the misfortunes and oppressions under which they groan? Reason, as well as Christianity, spurns at the narrow-minded patriotism which confines its regards to a particular country, and would promote its interests by any means, although it should prove injurious to every other nation. Whatever tends to the general good of the whole human family will ultimately be found conducive to the prosperity and happiness of every particular nation and tribe; while, on the other hand, a selfish and ungenerous conduct towards other communities, and an attempt to injure or degrade them, will seldom fail to deprive us of the benefits we wished to secure, and to expose us to the evils we intended to avert. Such appear, in fact, to be the principles of God's moral government among the nations, and such the sanctions by which the laws of natural justice are enforced. ON THE BENEFITS WHICH WOULD FLOW TO THE WORLD, were COVETOUSNESS UNDERMINED, AND AN OPPOSITE PRINCIPLE PREVAILING IN CHRISTIAN SOCIETY. Were the covetous principle completely undermined, and, consequently, were wealth applied to its legitimate objects, according to the intention of the Creator, every thing requisite to promote the physical comfort and the moral and intellectual enjoyment of man in this world, and his preparation for a future state of happiness, might, at no distant period, be speedily effected. Even the physical aspect of the globe might be renovated, and its barren deserts transformed into a scene of fertility and beauty, so that "the wilderness and the solitary place" might be made to rejoice and blossom as the rose." Although the inordinate love of money is "the root of all evil," yet the proper distribution of it, on the foundation of Christian principles, may be pronounced to be the source of all good. We have already shown that the almost universal prevalence of covetousness has been the cause of most of the wars and devastations which have convulsed the world, and the source of most of the evils and sufferings under which the human race have groaned in every age. And it might likewise be demonstrated that the proper application of wealth would go far to undermine, and ultimately to destroy, all such evils, and to diffuse among all ranks a degree of happiness and comfort which has never yet been enjoyed in any period since man first violated the law of his Creator. It is scarcely conceivable, at first view, what innumerable benefits, of every description, might be conferred on our fellow-men, and on the world at large, by an application, on liberal and Christian principles, of the riches which we at this moment possess. Oh, into what a blissful scene might this ruin of a world yet be transformed, were covetousness thoroughly subdued, and were only those who profess to be Christians to come forth with unanimity, and lay down their superfluous treasures at the foot of the cross! In the short space of little more than half a century to come, we might behold celestial light diffusing its radiance over the most distant and benighted regions of the globe; the idols of the nations abolished; the savage raised to the dignity of his moral and intellectual nature, and his mind adorned with the beauties of holiness; the instruments of warfare broken to shivers, and peace shedding its benign influence over the world; temples erected in every land for the worship of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; the minds of the young irradiated with Divine knowledge, and rising up in wisdom, and in favor with God and man; the principle of crime extirpated, and poverty and wretchedness banished from the earth; the moral wilderness of the heathen world cultivated and adorned with every heavenly virtue and grace; the wastes and wilds of the globe transformed into fertile regions, and arrayed in all the beauties of Eden; the hatred and jealousy of nations changed into benevolence, and a friendly and harmonious intercourse established between all the tribes and families of the earth! THE THRONE OF GOD. The Scriptures frequently refer to a particular place, circumstance, or manifestation, termed the throne of God, as in the following passages:-"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool." "The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens." "A glorious high throne, from the beginning, is the place of thy sanctuary." "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple." "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sits upon the throne." These and similar expressions and representations must be considered either as merely metaphorical, or as referring to some particular region of the universe where the Divine glory is reflected, in some peculiarly magnificent manner, from material objects, and where the manifestations of the Divine character are most illustriously displayed. If there be a reference to the splendor and magnitude of a particular portion of creation, there is an astronomical idea which may help us to form some conception of this "glorious high throne" which is the peculiar residence of the Eternal. It is now considered by astronomers as highly probable, if not certain, from late observations, from the nature of gravitation, and other circumstances, that all the |