ing of the world; but of which man has been the real author. We shall therefore pay a little more attention to this part of the subject, and try to "justify the ways of God to men," by throwing the blame upon its proper authors. When a man who thinks as well as sees, suffers his eye to range over the various minor systems which compose the one great scheme of the universe when he looks at the Planetary system, and beholds worlds whirling in countless numbers with inconceivable rapidity, yet infallible precision. When he dwells on the vegetable system, and sees myriads of plants rising from the same earth, living in the same air, warmed by the same sun, watered by the same rain, yet differing from each other, and affording year after year, each his own peculiar product with unerring exactitude: when with more inquisitive glance he pentrates the thicker veil with which nature has sustained the chemical world, and watches the several phenomena resulting from chemical operations; combustion, putrefaction, vegetation, fermentation, etc. observes the unfailing exactitude with which all these render obedient homage to the one great law of affinity;—then, when he looks inward and contemplates his own system, beautiful as the most beautiful, and not less worthy of omnipotent wisdom than the most worthy -when he looks inward and beholds there all confusion and imperfection-when he perceives that, of all the systems of nature that of man alone is liable to derangement, etc.: the mind cannot but be irresistibly struck with the anomoly; and the tongue can not but exclaim "why is it so?" It is thus: that while all other systems of the universe are sustained and governed by immutable laws, as gravitation, chemical affinity,

instinct, etc. etc., the system of man depends solely for support, upon laws, the perfect or imperfect fulfilment of which has been left dependent on the capricious conduct of man himself—I am not attempting to prove that man is not "born to die :" I am only endeavouring to show that he was not, by God, subject to disease, and premature death. I cannot believe that it formed a part of the original design of the Almighty architect of the universe, that one half of mankind should die before they have attained the age of eight years: that is, before they have lived long enough to fulfil any one conceivable intention-in fact, before they are themselves fully formed. If any man dies while any one of his organs is unimpaired, he dies prematurely, and before he has fulfilled the final cause of his existance. For God is an economist in every thing: he creates nothing in vain; never falls short, or exceeds the object in view. There is but one legitimate course of death; and that is old age. And here we see the goodness of God; there is nothing painful in death from old age, if the soul has found peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. It makes its advances with a gradual and steady step, which is scarcely noted, and the old man drops into the tomb almost insensibly-"His end is peace."* Thus it will appear that nature's laws are immutable, and unchangeable, and that when they are obeyed there will be no exception to the enjoyment of Health and Longevity. Many such instances have occurred since the Christian era, a proof that man is not so constituted as to render it inevitable that he should live in a state of disease, and

*Life, Health and Disease, slightly altered.

die at so early a period as now bounds his existence. Combe, in his highly talented work, the "Constitution of Man, considered in relation to external objects," says "I hope I do not err in stating that neither disease nor death in early or middle life, can take place under the ordinary administration of Providence, except when the organic laws have been infringed." The pains of premature death, then, are the punishments of infringement of these laws; and the object of that chastisement, probably is, to impress upon us the necessity of obeying them that we may live, and to prevent our abusing the remedial process inherent to a great extent in our constitution. That death in old age only is the natural institution of the Creation, is evident from all the philosophic reasoning we can bring to bear upon the subject. Dr. Smith and Arnott, in their celebrated report to the government in 1835, say, "There is nothing in the Physiological constitution of man to prevent his long surviving the age of 70 years, or more, if the causes which now prevent their doing so were removed." Dr. S. Graham in his excellent Lectures to young men observes "If man-kind always lived precisely as they ought to live, they would, as a general rule most certainly pass through the several states of life, from infancy to old age, without sickness; enjoying through their long protracted years, health, serenity, and peace; individual and social happiness; and gradually wear out their vital energies, and finally lie down, and fall asleep in death, without agony-without pain." Disease is not natural, but artificial -as much so as any production can be artificial. Man at his Creation was endowed with the gift of Health, and was destined to enjoy Longevity, and not

to be the sickly, suffering, Creature we now behold him. "He was designed to enjoy health, and sink by slow degrees into the bosom of his parent earth, without disease or pain." Veg. Reg. Hesiod tells us that "before the time of Promotheus,* mankind were exempt from all suffering, and that death, when at length it came approached like sleep, and gently closed their eyes." And Dr. Campbell speaks with his accustomed force and perspicuity, when, in the first number of that Prodigy! the Christian Witness, (which has, obtained a circulation of 30,000 per month,) he gives it as his opinion that "Premature decay, sickness, and death, are matters very much under the control of man." Dr. Bigel asserts "Man is, physically and morally, the author of his own ills." If we lived on healthy food and drink, such a thing as disease would be impossible.-WHITLAW.

Captain Claridge has presented his readers with some very striking remarks on Man's organism, in which he clearly shows that man as an organized being must be subject to the organic laws. An organized being is one which derives its existence from a previously existing organized being; which subsists on food; which grows, decays, and dies. The first law, then, that must be obeyed, in order to render an organized being perfect in its kind, is that the germ from whence it springs shall be complete in all its parts, and sound in its whole constitution. If we sow an acorn in which some vital part has been destroyed altogether, the seedling plant, and the full grown oak, (if ever it attain maturity,) will be

*Promotheus first instructed mankind in the culinary and other uses of fire, and also set them the example of slaughtering

an ox.

deficient in the lineaments which are wanting in the embryo root; if we sow an acorn, entire in its parts, but only half ripened, or damaged in its whole texturely damp or other causes, the seedling oak will be feeble, and will probably die early. A similar law holds good in regard to man. For instance; a man from hign living and indolence, contracts gout; his sons, however temperate, may nevertheless be afflicted with gout by inheritance; that is supposing gout to be an hereditary disease, as some assert. Here we have a clue to that declaration of Jehovah, in which he declares he "will visit the iniquity of the Fathers upon the children;" which he does sometimes, ". upon the children's children unto the third and fourth generation."

A second organic law, according to Mr. Claridge is, that the organized being, the moment it is ushered into life, and as long as it continues to live, must be supplied with food, light, air, and every other physical element requisite for its support, in due quantity, and of the kind best suited to its peculiar constitution. Obedience to this law is rewarded with a vigorous and healthy developement of its powers; and in animals, with a pleasing consciousness of existence, and aptitude for the performance of their natural functions. Disobedience is punished with feebleness, stunted growth, general imperfections, or an early death. A few facts shall illustrate this. At a meeting of the "British Association," held in Edinburgh in 1834, there was read an abstract, by Dr. J. Clarke, of a registry kept in the lyingin Hospital of Great Britain Street Dublin, for the year 1758, to the end of 1833; from whch it appeared, that in 1781, when the Hospital was imperfectly ventilated, every sixth child died within