infentibly fell upon me. I at first amuted myfelf with all the richness and variety of colours, which appeared in the weitern parts of heaven in proportion as they faded away and went out, feveral ftars and planets appeared one after an other, until the whole firmament was in a glow. The blueness of the Æther was exceedingly heightened and enliven ed by the fealon of the year, and by the rays of all thofe luminaries that paffed through it. The Galaxy appeared in it's most beautiful white. To compleat the feene, the full moon role at length in that clouded majesty which Milton takes notice of, and opened to the eye a new picture of nature, which was more finely fhaded, and difpofed among fofter lights, than that which the fun had before difcovered to us.

As I was firveying the moon walking in her bigh nets, and taking her progrefs among the conftellations, a thought rote in me which I believe very often perplexes and diflurbs men of ferious and contemplative natures. David himself fell into it in that reflection- When I confide the heavens the work of thy fingers, the moon and the ftars which thou hatt ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the ton of man that thou regardeft him! In the fame manner when I confidered the infinite host of Itars, or, to fpeak more philofophically, of funs, which were then thining upon me, with thofe innumerable fets of planets or worlds, which were moving round their respective funs; when I fill enlarged the idea, and fuppofed another haven of funs and worlds rifing still above this which we difcovered, and these till en lightened by a fuperior firmament of luminaties, which are planted at fo great

to us; in fort, while I purfued this thought, I could not but reflect on that little infignificant figure which I myself bore amidst the immenfity of God's works.

Were the fun, which enlightens this part of the creation, with all the host of planetary worlds that move about him, utterly extinguished and annihilated, they would not be miffed more than a grain of fand upon the fea-fhore. The pace they poffefs is fo exceedingly little in comparison of the whole, that it would fcarce make a blank in the creation. The chalin would be imperceptible to an eye that could take in the whole, compafs of nature, and pafs from one end of the creation to the other; as it is poffible there may be fuch a fenfe in our felves hereafter, or in creatures which are at prefent more exalted than ourfeives. We fee many stars by the help' of glaffes, which we do not discover with our naked eyes; and the finer our telescopes are, the more ftill are our difcoveries. Huygenius carries this thought fo far, that he does not think it impoffible there may be ftars whofe light is not yet travelled down to us fince their first creation. There is no question but the univerfe has certain bounds fet to it; but when we confider that it is the work of infinite power, prompted by infinite goodness, with an infinite space to exert itfelf in, how can our imagination fet any bounds to it?

To return, therefore, to my first thought; I could not but look upon my felf with Reret horror, as a being that was not worth the finallett regard of one who had fo great a work under his care and fuperintendency. I was afraid of being overlooked amidst the immenfty of nature, and lott among that in

finite.

finite variety of creatures, which in all probability fwarm through all these inmeafurable regions of matter.

In order to recover myfelf from this mortifying thought, I confidered that it took it's rife from thote narrow conceptions which we are apt to entertain of the Divine Nature. We ourfelves cannot attend to many different objects at the fame time. If we are careful to infpect fome things, we must of courfe neglect others. This imperfection, which we obferve in ourselves, is an imperfection, that cleaves in fome degree to creatures of the higheft capacities, as they are creatures, that is, beings of finite and limited natures. The presence of every created being is confined to a certain measure of space, and confequently his obfervation is ftinted to a certain number of objects. The fphere in which we move, and a&t, and understand, is of a wider circumference to one creature than another, according as we rife one above another in the feale of existence. But the widest of these our spheres has it's circumference. When therefore we reflect on the Divine Nature, we are fo ufed and accustomed to this imperfection in our felves, that we cannot forbear in fome meafure afcribing it to Him in whom there is no fhadow of imperfection. Our reafon indeed affures us that his attributes are infinite; but the poornefs of our conceptions is fuch, that it cannot forbear feiting bounds to every thing it contemplates, until our reafon comes again to our fuccour, and throws down all thofe little prejudices which rife in us unawares, and are natural to the mind of man.

We shall therefore utterly extinguish this melancholy thought of cur being overlooked by our Maker in the multiplicity of his works, and the infinity of thofe objects among which he feems to be inceffantly employed, if we confider, in the first place, that he is omniprefent; and, in the fecond, that he is omnifcient.

If we confider him in his omniprefence, his being paffes through, acnates, and supports, the whole frame of nature. His creation, and every part of it, is full of him. There is nothing he has made, that is either fo diftant, to little, or fo inconfiderable, which he does not effentially inhabit. His fubfiance is within the, fubftance of every being, whether material or immaterial; and as

intimately prefent to it, as that being is to itself. It would be an imperfection in him, were he able to remove out of one place into another, or to withdraw himself from any thing he has created, or from any part of that space which is diffufed and (pread abroad to infinity. In fhort, to fpeak of him in the language of the old philofopher, He is a Being whofe centre is every where, and his circumference no where.

In the fecond place, he is omnifcient as well as omniprefent. His omnifcience indeed neceffarily and naturally flows from his omniprefence; he cannot but be confcious of every motion that arifes in the whole material world, which he thus effentially pervades; and of every thought that is firring in the intellectual world, to every part of which he is thus intimately united. Several moralifts have confidered the creation as the temple of God, which he has built with his own hands, and which is filled with his prefence. Others have confidered infinite space as the receptacle, or rather the habitation of the Almighty: but the nobleft and moft exalted way of confidering this infinite space is that of Sir Haze Newton, who calls it the Senforium of the Godhead. Brutes and men have their Senjoricla, or little Senforiums, by which they apprehend the prefence and perceive the actions of a few objects, that lie contiguous to them. Their knowledge and obfervation tin n within a very narrow circle. But as God Almighty cannot but perceive and know everything in which he refides, infinite fpace gives room to infinite knowledge, and is, as it were, an organ to omniscience.

Were the foul feparate from the body, and with one glance of thought thould flart beyond the bounds of the creation; fhould it for millions of years continue it's progrefs through infinite fpace with the fame activity, it would ftill find itfelf within the embrace of it's Creator, and encompaffed round with the immenfity of the Godhead. Whilft we are in the body he is not lefs prefent with us, because he is concealed from us. O that I knew where I might find him! fays Job. Behold I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where he does work, but I cannot behold him: he lideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot fee him. In fhort, reafon as well

་

as rerelation affures us, that he cannot be abfent from us, notwithstanding he is undifcovered by us.

In this confideration of God Al mighty's omniprefence and omnifcience, every uncomfortable thought vanishes. He cannot but regard every thing that has being, elpecially fuch of his crea tures who fear they are not regarded by him. He is privy to all their thoughts,

A

and to that anxiety of heart in particu lar which is apt to trouble them on this occafion: for, as it is impoflible he fhould overlook any of his creatures, fo we may be confident that he regards, with an eye of mercy, those who endea your to recommend them'èlves to his nofice, and in an unfeigned humility of heart think themfelves unworthy that he should be mindful of them, 0

OVID. ARS AM. L. 11. VER. 233

S my correfpondents begin to grow pretty numerous, I think myself obliged to take fome notice of them, and fhall therefore make this paper a mifcellany of letters. I have fince my re-affuming the office of Spectator, received abundance of epiftles from gentlemen of the blade, who, I find, have been fo used to action that they know not how to lie till. They feem generally to be of opinion, that the fair at home ought to reward them for their fervices abroad; and that, until the caute of their country calls them again into the field, they have a fort of right to quarter themfelves upon the ladies. In order to favour their approaches, I am defired by fonie to enlarge upon the accomplishments of their profeffion, and by others to give them my advice on the carrying on their attacks. But let us hear what the gentlemen fay for themselves.

MR. SPECTATOR,

THOUGH it may look fomewhat perverfe, amidst the arts of peace, to talk too much of war, it is but gratitude to pay the last office to it's manes, fince even peace itself is, in fome mea. sure, obliged to it for it's being.

You have, in your former papers, always recommended the accomplished to the favour of the fair; and, I hope, you will allow me to reprefent fome part of a military life not altogether unneceffary to the forming a gentleman. I need not tell you, that in France, whofe fafhions we have been formerly fo fond of, almost every one derives his pretences to merit from the sword; and that a man has fearce the face to make his court to

a lady, without fome credentials from the fervice to recommend him. As the profeffion is very ancient, we have reafon to think fome of the greatett men among the old Romans derived many of their virtues from it, the commanders being frequently in other respects some of the most shining characters of the age.

The army not only gives a man opportunities of exercifing thofe two great virtues, patience and courage, but often produces them in minds where they had fcarce any footing before. I must add, that it is one of the beft fchools in the world to receive a general notion of mankind in, and a certain freedom of behaviour, which is not fo easily acquired in any other place. At the fame time I must own, that fome military airs are pretty extraordinary, and that a man who goes into the army a coxcomb will come out of it a fort of public nuifance: but a man of fenfe, or one who before had not been fufficiently used to a mixed converfation, generally takes the true turn. The court has in all ages been allowed to be the ftandard of goodbreeding; and I believe there is not a julter obfervation in Monfieur Rochefoucault, than that a man who has been b.ed up wholly to bulinefs, can never get the air of a courtier at court, but will immediately catch it in the camp.' The reafon of this mot certainly is, that the very effence of good-breeding and politeneis contifts in feveral niceties, which are fo minute that they escape his obfervation, and he falls short of the original he would copy after; but when be fees the fame things charged and ag

gravated

gravated to a fault, he no fooner endeavours to come up to the pattern which is fet before him, than, though he stops fomewhat short of that, he naturally reits where in reality he ought. I was, two or three days ago, mightily pleafed with the obfervation of an humorous gentleman upon one of his friends, who was in other refpects every way an accomplished perfon, that he wanted nothing but a dash of the coxcomb in him by which he understood a little of that alertnes and unconcern in the common actions or lite, which is ufually to visible among gentlemen of the army, and which a campaign or two would infallibly have given him.

You will eafily guels, Sir, by this my panegyric upon a military education, that I am mivielt a foldier, and indeed I am fo. I remember, within three years after I had been in the army, I was ordered into the country a recruiting. I had very particular fuccets in this part of the fervice; and was over and above affured, at my going away, that I might have taken a young lady, who was the moit confiderable fortune in the country, along with me. I preferred the purfuit of fame at that time to all other confiderations; and though I was not abfolutely bent on a wooden leg, refolved at least to get a fcar or two for the good of Europe. I have at prefent as much as I defire of this fort of honour; and if you could recommend me effectually, should be well enough contented to pals the remainder of my days in the arms of fome dear kind creature, and upon a pretty eftate in the country. This, as I take it, would be following the example of Lucius Cincinnatus, the old Roman dicator, who at the end of a war left the camp to follow the plough, I am, Sir, with all imaginable refpect, your mott obedient humble fervant,

WILL WARLEY,

I

MR. SPECTATOR,

Am an half-pay officer, and am at prefent with a friend in the country. Here is a rich widow in the neighbourhood, who has made fools of all the fox-hunters within fifty miles of her. She declares the intends to marry, but has not yet been asked by the man the could like. She usually admits her humble admirers to an audience or two; but, after he has once given them denial, will never see them more. I am affured by a female relation, that I fall have fair play at her; but as my whole fuccefs depends on my first approaches, I defire your advice, whether I had beft ftorm, or proceed by way of fap. I am, Sir, Your's, &c.

P.S. I had forgot to tell you, that I have already carried one of her outworks, that is, fecured her maid.

MR. SPECTATOR,

I Have affitted in feveral fieges in the

Low-Countries; and being still willing to employ my talents as a foldier and engineer, lay down this morning at feven o'clock before the door of an obtinate female, who had for fome time refused me admittance. I made a lodg ment in an outer parlour about twelve: the enemy retired to her bed-chamber, yet I ft purfued, and about two o'clock this afternoon the thought fit to capitulate. Her demands are indeed fomewhat high, in relation to the fettlement of her fortune. But being in pollettion of the houfe, I intend to infift upon Carte Blanche; and am in hopes, by keeping off all other pretenders for the fpace of twenty-four hours, to ftarve her into a compliance. I beg your speedy advice, and am, Sir, your's,

PETER PUSH. From my camp in Red Lion Square, Saturday four in the afternoon.