GENTLEMEN,

      IN appearing before you, I feel that I am introducing myself to the best hopes of the rising generation,--to spirits ardent with the fires of youth, and aspirations and energies unfolding and expanding with the fervour of their own passions. As such, allow me to welcome you to these shades of science and literature, here amid the deep retirement of nature's hills,--and, as the peculiar province of the duties assigned to me--introduce you particularly to that department of science, over whose mysteries it is my privilege to preside. But in doing so, I cannot forbear to admonish you of the importance of the step which you have taken in entering these academic halls. The span of each individual's history on earth, like the mighty circle of time, is made up of smaller divisions or epochs, differing in the times of their recurrence and often in the importance of their events, but yet, so marked and definite, that the most casual glance back upon the stream of the past, cannot but fall upon them, standing forth as so many stern dispensers of our destiny, and claiming our observation, whether they excite the sweet consciousness of a blameless life or the remorseful pangs of misdirected energies and wasted powers. But it is the order of Providence in most cases, wisely to conceal these epochs from those whom they are to affect, till they have passed into history;--yet, as in the physical man, infancy, boyhood, manly prime and decrepit age mark the successive stages of his career, from the cradle to the tomb, so in the intellectual and moral or social man, there are a few great and prominent eras, traced so deeply and intelligibly in the history of all, that we are at no loss in assigning them a period and setting a value upon their importance. Had we the means of solving the problem, what has been the influence for time and eternity, upon all persons who have ever entered as students, the walls of a college, of such a privilege,--it could then be seen how extensive and far reaching in its consequences, such a step must of necessity be to every young gentleman who takes it. But in the absence of such data, we may be permitted to consider for a moment, some of the reasons that make it [43] important, and, indeed, render it the most interesting, as well as the most critical period of the journey of life. Much the larger portion of you now before me, are, for the first time, separated from the homes which gave you birth, and the ever watchful and solicitous guardianship, of those whose every aspiration and hope are concentrated in you--and for the first time in your lives, many of you, perhaps, are thrown upon your own resources for a character, the formation of which you have now to commence. It would be needless for me to dwell upon the importance of this step, since the concurrent experience and observation of many generations have long since decided it to be the directing influence throughout life. The habits acquired and the principles imbibed at this period, like the presiding constellation in the Astrologer's superstition, follow us through every stage of our being, and often, despite our best resolutions and efforts, control and determine our destiny for time and eternity.

      But it is not enough that we resolve upon forming habits and cultivating principles, such as will guide us successfully and honourably through the devious and seductive paths of a world every where beset with the snares of temptation and vice. We must do more--we must diligently and earnestly practise all that an enlightened conscience may dictate and daily and hourly accustom ourselves to the most rigid and economical distribution of our time and energies. Man is a being born to high aspirations and a noble destiny. Immortality is stamped upon his god-like image, and the first breathings of intelligence, lift his hopes upwards. Endowed with the noblest powers for improvement and quickened into effort by an instinctive love of knowledge, which swells with his growth, his first observations and deductions are made in that kingdom, some of whose laws it is the peculiar province of the department of science assigned to me, to unfold. The five avenues of sensation, all open from the moment of birth, let in from the boundless supplies of nature, constant and unremitting streams of simple ideas, rich with all the beautiful variety of colour and form, and the most delightful and harmonious commingling of music and song with the delicious odours and perfumes, that spring from every flower and shrub, with which the lavish hand of Nature has embellished this, her beautiful and magnificent garden. Man is thus by his Creator constituted a natural philosopher. The first moment he puts forth his hands and feels the boundaries or surfaces of solids, and begins to measure, by his touch and by his sight, the size and figure of the things around and about him, he is making observations and imbibing truths, which stand first in the foundation of the elegant and beautifully elaborated edifice of natural science. But the curious excitement produced by a succession of objects new and [44] wonderful, so absorbs and enchants the youthful mind, that its faculty for classification and arrangement lies dormant, whilst observation, ever on the wing, ranges over the wide and varied field of natural phenomena, noting with a curious but unskilful eye, its beauties and wonders, its motions and changes, till wearied with the pursuit, the mind falls back upon itself and begins the task of recalling its previous impressions. Memory, rich with the stores of future knowledge, is now summoned to give its aid,--but the boundless variety and multiplicity of its treasures seem but beautiful confusion. The mind struggles in vain to grasp so much loose and unarranged material, and thus of necessity is compelled to arrange, to classify, to generalize. All the varied phenomena are now locked at in their relations, and arranged according to their similitudes. This is the commencement of science, for science is nothing more than "knowledge orderly and methodically arranged, so that the observations and discoveries of many, may become attainable by one."

      This, gentlemen, may be supposed to be the period at which you have arrived; but as the happy power of a ready generalization falls to the lot of but few, and even to that few, only after matured judgment and long and laborious study, it is just here that the assistance afforded by the labour and research of those master spirit, who have signalized themselves and blessed posterity by their genius and learning, becomes a most necessary means to your progress. To the labours and discoveries of these it will be my privilege to introduce you, so far at least, as they relate to that branch of science, usually designated Physics or Natural Philosophy;--and here it may not be improper, before we enter into any detailed investigation of the importance, practical and speculative, of this interesting chapter in the great volume of nature, to give in general terms, the idea intended to be conveyed by the expression, Physics or Natural Philosophy. And in order the more clearly to do so, it may not be uninteresting to read to you, the whole table of contents to this mighty book, in which is contained all that man may know by his unassisted reason, that is, apart from Revelation.

      In the process of observation then, of which we have been speaking, we are investigating that chapter, which stands first in the order of nature--viz: the chapter of Natural History, or that which gives the particulars or history of things. This chapter is again divided off into three grand division, called kingdoms of nature, under which, is arranged, respectively, the history of Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals. But in our study of these, we are unavoidably called to consider their motions, the changes in condition which are continually going on amongst them, and innumerable phenomena, produced by principles and [45] powers, of which, in their origin and extent, we are mostly ignorant, at least so far as reason can enlighten us. The study and development of these principles, which we call general truths or laws of nature, constitutes another and distinct chapter in nature's volume, called Science or Philosophy, that is, the reason of things, These general truths or laws are subdivided into four great heads or classes, Physical, Chemical, Mental and Vital, corresponding to the peculiarities of the objects observed in the kingdom of nature. Thus, when in our study of Natural History, we observe in the creature, man, certain evidences of a principle, not discovered to be possessed by any other animal, and see that its operations are guided rind determined by laws, we have the foundation for the science of mind or Metaphysics; or when in the animal or vegetable kingdom, we mark the regular and unbroken progression, from the young offspring to the full grown animal, or the small and scarcely observed germ, to the mighty and majestic tree, we soon see, that there are certain laws or principles by which the whole is ordered and directed, and thus we begin the philosophy of life, and so of the other two divisions, Chemical and Physical; in the one we observe the laws which govern the attractions, repulsions, union and separation of atoms; in the other the similar changes or phenomena, going on amongst bodies or aggregates of atoms. But these divisions are again cut up into parts. Thus, for instance, under the general head of life, we have Animal and Vegetable, Physiology, and under these again respectively, Zoology, Anatomy, Pathology, Medicine, etc. and Botany, Horticulture, Agriculture, &c. But we leave these minor divisions to other hands and turn to that, which more immediately concerns us, viz:--Natural Philosophy, or Physics.

      Natural Philosophy or Physics, then, is that science, which teaches us "the laws that govern every phenomena of Nature, in which there is any sensible change of place, being concerned alone, in the greater part of those phenomena, and regulating the remainder, which originate from Chemical action and from the action of life,"--and it is distinguishable from Chemistry, with which it would seem in many cases blended, by remembering that the latter deals with atoms, the constituents or elements of things, whilst the former takes cognizance, only of bodies in the aggregate.--But whilst this distinction seems so marked, we would caution you against the idea, that any one department in Natural Science is entirely separate and distinct from all others. There are, it is true, great and prominent landmarks, by which we, in our divisions, made for the convenience of study, distinguish them, but in their details and in their more contiguous parts, there is often so much similarity, so much dependency, the [46] confines of one so gradually sinking into the dominions of the other,--

      that it is next to impossible to say where the one ends or the other begins. In fact, there is no such thing as a separate and independent science, any more than there is a separate and independent animal function. They are all, but parts of one stupendous whole, and all necessary to the beauty and full proportion of the edifice. Indeed there is no independent and isolated operation in Nature. All the infinite variety of her works, no matter in what form they may be presented to us, no matter in what complex and often inexplicable combinations they may be involved, yet, from the tenderest flower that lifts its head to the light, to the forest monarch, stretching far and wide its vigorous branches,--from the subtle and almost undiscoverable fluid that struggles through the attenuated frame of an animalcule, to the strong and nervous pulsations, that drive the current of life, through the system of the stout and vigorous monarch of earth, all is but, the harmony of one universal nature, operating through a few simple laws, and thus by the most beautiful and wonderful cosmical adaptations and arrangements, controlling this, to us, complex and mysterious fabric.

      It has been justly remarked, by a distinguished Philosopher, that "the man, who understands the four words, Atom, Attraction, Repulsion and Inertia, in all their bearings and relations, understands the greater part of the phenomena of nature." This seems at first sight, a reduction almost too great for our credence, yet it is just, and we need but a moment's reflection to convince us, not only of its truths, but of the great value and importance of science, that can thus in four words reveal to us all the principles that rule and control the boundless complications of Nature. Yet we must not imagine because these principles are so few and apparently so simple, that their application will be in all cases easy; nor indeed, their influences always evident and defined. It has required the untiring researches of philosophers, from the time of Bacon till now, to trace up Nature to these, her primordial laws, and in order to be master of any one department of Science, we must begin at their conclusions, and go back over their footsteps, till we too, have become conversant with the train of reasoning by which this sublime simplicity is discovered. It will not be enough, that we simply know or hear these truths;--we must take Nature as we find her, and apply the rule to her phenomena in all their variety, and by a rigid induction test the principle to see whether it be true. This is the true Baconian mode of reasoning, and it has accomplished more for science than all the wild and visionary hypotheses ever invented by the imagination of man, from the days of Grecian philosophy, down [47] to the revival of learning, in the 15th century. Previous to the publication of the "Novum Organon"^b of this master genius, who has been not inappropriately styled "the Priest of nature's mysteries," the world was full of the most vague and absurd notions of things, that the wildest fancy could imagine. The great master of Grecian philosophy, Aristotle, by a sort of enchantment, that seemed almost fatal, had so completely bewildered the paths of philosophy, and by his pointless and senseless jargon about "occult qualities" and "imaginary essences," so refined and etherealised the simple and beautiful operations of nature, that it was next to impossible to tell what was or was not philosophy. The wonderful and instructive lessons every where written on the broad pages of nature, were overlooked in the deep scrutiny for the "occult," whilst the simple yet sublime deductions and conclusions of a more rational school, were utterly neglected and unobserved in the refined speculations on intention and remission, proportion and degree, infinity, formality, quiddity, individuality, and innumerable other abstract notions, with which the great and the learned of the land employed their powers.

      Such were the sublime questions that engaged the heads and pens of these "Seraphic Doctors," as they were sometimes called, and such the curious notions with which they contaminated the pure fountain of nature, even down to no very remote period from our own times. From the 12th to the 15th century, during which period science and truth seemed alike banished from earth, the dogmata of Aristotle held a supremacy, almost universal over the literary part of Europe. But happily perhaps, for the present state of science, the little learning that was then in the world, was confined to monks and religious recluses, and was by them imparted to but few, so that the long night that had been gathering over Europe for so many centuries, was now thickening to perfect darkness and the deep ignorance and void of the human mind, consequent "upon the entire extinguishment of even the semblance of Philosophy, left it open for the reception of the bright truths that were destined so soon to flash in upon the darkness. The dawn of a brighter era seemed breaking forth in the revival of the old Pythagorean System of the universe, by Copernicus, about the beginning of the 16th century, and notwithstanding the angry threatenings and heavy thunderings of the Vatican, it rose higher and higher, as the mighty minds of Galileo, Kepler and Gassendi poured forth their energies in removing the obstruction s, that prevented the beams of the full day. But the old prejudices in favour of hypothesis, yet clung to the mode of reasoning and trammelled in no small degree, the progress of truth; and even when conclusions founded upon observations and facts, were arrived at, their authors were restrained by the [48] tyranny of popery and superstition, from boldly and fearlessly giving them to the world. Such was the case with Copernicus and Galileo. On two occasions was the latter summoned before the inquisition to answer for his heresies and confess his errors, and twice was the venerable Philosopher, despite the convictions of his own observations and reasonings, compelled by the terrors of the inquisition, to renounce his belief in the motion of the earth on its axis. But, to his enduring honor, it is recorded, that when on the latter occasion, he had bent his hoary head before the confessional and to the brutal tyranny of ignorance, made the renunciation and confession required, he rose from his knees, turned from the haughty cardinal, and, filled with the spirit of a sublime philosophy, stamped his foot upon the earth and exclaimed, "Still it moves." But whilst this distinguished philosopher was doing much in Italy, by his discoveries and inventions towards dispelling the darkness, that then brooded over science; it remained for the genius of Bacon, in England, to step forth, and in its giant strength, shake the pillars of the old and venerated temple of error, within whose mazy and interminable labyrinths, the strongest minds had so long wandered and struggled in vain for truth, till the whole fabric tottered beneath his arm and fell, with all its antiquity and all its learning, "a grave and solemn folly."

      But to return from this digression.--We were pointing out the manner in which we should study nature and test the laws, which the researches of Philosophers have given as canonical, and in order to do so, we found that we must go back and retrace their steps, that we may see whether the connection between the facts of Nature and the conclusions of Philosophers, be unbroken. This will involve us necessarily, in the details of the particular branch, we may happen to be prosecuting, and this again will throw us upon our fund of previously observed facts. But as many of the operations of nature require an accuracy of experiment and observation, in order to detect the laws by which they are controlled, that is seldom attained by the unskilful, and as the developement of the law is made, in most cases by unfolding the fact, it requires but a small fund of previous observation to enable the student to prosecute his inquiries, in the various departments of Physics--the lecture-room illustrations and the lucid statements of the text books, supplying all that is requisite to a clear and general comprehension of this interesting branch of Natural Science. We would now, with your indulgence, barely mention the minor divisions of Natural Philosophy, briefly describing the province of each, and then proceed to give a few evidences and examples of their importance, practical and speculative, to the human family and to yourselves, that are to be, perhaps some of you, the future dispensers of its fortunes. [49]

      The most casual glance at objects, as they exist around us in Nature, cannot fail to detect in them, marked and definite differences, both as respects their character and condition;--and, as would naturally be supposed, Philosophers have made these differences, the foundation of their classifications and arrangements. Every thing in the universe is either in a state of rest or motion, and the laws, by which these two conditions of matter are produced, are classed under the two general heads of Statics and Dynamics. Statics, from a Greek word (stalike) signifying rest, has reference to that class of forces, which produce rest or equilibrium, whilst under Dynamics, (from Dunamis, force or power) are considered the forces, which produce motion. But at the same time that these classifications, formed upon the conditions of matter, deserve a good share of attention; there are certain others, which have been made with a reference to the peculiar character or nature of that matter, as presented to our senses, much more convenient and useful; and as the doctrines of Statics and Dynamics are necessarily involved in the consideration of the phenomena of each class, it has been found convenient in most cases, not to consider them separately. The classification to which I allude and which is not only the best and most convenient, but which is now almost universally adopted, is founded upon the most obvious differences and analogies; and indeed may be said to be the classification of Nature herself, since it is determined by the manner, in which she has marshalled her hosts of operative agents--the solids, the fluids, and the imponderable substances. That department, in which are explained the peculiarities of state and motion among solid bodies, is called Mechanics. Under it, the laws of motion are discussed, and the mechanical powers investigated, machinery generally examined and explained, and numerous other topics, connected directly or remotely with these, introduced to illustrate and exemplify, in their various combinations and relations, the few laws, that form the basis of the whole department of Mechanics.

      Under the division, which is appropriated to the consideration of the phenomena of fluids, come several departments. First,--Hydrodynamics, (from the Greek words, Udor, water and Dunamis, force) which is again divided into Hydrostatics (water at rest or in equilibrium) and Hydraulics (water in motion.) Under these will be considered the laws which regulate the pressure, motion and force of water, and the applications which are made of it, to machinery and the various useful contrivances, which have been invented for the convenience and comfort of man. The second department, under the general head of Fluids, is Pneumatics or the phenomena of the air; and the third Acoustics or the phenomena of sound and hearing. Under Pneumatics, [50] will be considered, the elasticity of the air, the phenomena of atmospheric pressure in connection with pumps, the steam engine and various other Mechanical contrivances, by which this vital fluid has been made the source of innumerable blessings to the human race. Acoustics will lead us to the consideration of the phenomena of sound, the manner in which it is propagated, and the laws of its reflection--the principles of Music, &c. This concludes the chapter on the laws and phenomena of Fluids, and leaves us prepared to enter upon the consideration of that interesting department, in which are developed the laws, that control imponderable substances--a department in which we find as much to excite our admiration and wonder, as in any one in Nature. Under this head will be examined, the laws of imponderable substance; 1st, under Heat or Caloric, 2nd, Light or Optics, 3d, Electricity; 4th, Magnetism and Electro-Magnetism, and 5th, Galvanism. Under the first head, of Heat or Caloric, whilst we may give you the various ingenious and speculative opinions, as to its nature, we can promise to teach nothing with certainty, beyond its effects, and the laws by which it operates and is operated upon. This is indeed, all that science has ever been able to develope, in regard to Light, Electricity, Galvanism or Magnetism. The nature and essence of none of them is known, and because we have no means of proving, that they have even the most obvious attribute of matter, weight, we class them under the head of imponderable substances. But whilst the essence of these wonderful and pervasive agents in nature, is to philosophy, a something, yet unknown, the truths which have been discovered and developed in regard to them and their operations, have been well attested and confirmed, and are such as to render them most interesting, and in many respects, highly useful branches of science. The Solids, Fluids and imponderable substances, we mentioned as the three great divisions, which nature has made, in marshalling her operative agents, and under each, we have noticed the minor divisions, which Science has established for the convenience of study; but there is yet another department, belonging to the division of Solids, which has not been mentioned, because it is always and properly treated as a separate and distinct branch of Science. I allude to Astronomy, or that science, which treats of the distances, motions, magnitudes, &c., of the heavenly bodies.

      We have thus, gentlemen, hurried you over this wide and extended field, only pausing to note its greater and minor divisions, and to take a bird's-eye view of its extent and variety, in order that in the beginning, we may see the end and thus be the better prepared to direct our foot-steps with certainty and assurance, whilst we may be engaged in studying, and exploring each division, in all its details and particulars. This is the task, upon [51] which; you are now about to enter, and whilst you may have many a toilsome hill to climb, and often dry and arid wastes to traverse, yet the fresh flowers that every where meet your gaze on the one, and the cool fountains that occasionally spring up in the other, will render your toil sweet, and your journey pleasant.

      But in this age of Utilitarianism, it may be enquired, of what practical use is all this parade of Science? Of what good does it possess us, and to what beneficial result does it all look? And as it is intended, that its study shall occupy no small share of attention in this institution, professing as it does, to be devoted to the promotion of the general good and amelioration of mankind, both for time and eternity, it may be expected that we should pay some attention to such questions. With a view, therefore, of meeting all objections, that may originate, either in ignorance or from prejudice, we shall consider, 1st, the actual practical advantages and benefits, which science is continually affording man--2nd, the pleasures, with which, as a positive good, the pursuit of science fills the mind, and lastly, the influence, which it is calculated to exert upon man, as a being, destined to live, eternally hereafter--and in doing so, we shall confine ourselves, of course, to that department of Science, which it is our peculiar province to examine. The only sure and infallible test of human advancement, is history, and to it alone, therefore, we will appeal, as to the benefits, which science has bestowed upon the human race, since it awoke, like a giant from his slumbers, after the long night of the dark or middle ages.--And here allow me to remark, as the practical advantages of science are found in the arts--that all art is but the perfection of science, and that when we look at the beautiful and ingenious machinery of every variety, that almost every where meets our observation, we behold in every instance, a speaking-proof of the power of Science. From the common grist and saw-mills, that meet our gaze at almost every bend of our little creeks and rivers, to the most extensive and complicated machinery of the large Factories, that stud our cities--from the smallest engine, that by its simple appendages, drives the saw through the massy timbers of our forest, converting huge and misshapen logs, into the most useful material in all departments of mechanics, to the majestic steamer, that sweeps the seas from one continent to another; all are but manifestations of that wonder-working influence, Science. Yet, we walk and breath in the midst of these benefits and conveniences, and scarcely ever dream of the toil and study, by which they have been bequeathed to us. When some Antiquary tells us of the rude arts of the olden time--or when we dig into an Indian mound, and, along with the bones of some departed artificer, discover, in the sharpened stone, the rude substitute for our axe and saw, with which he performed [52] his labour, we wonder how it was possible for him even to fashion his canoe for the waters, and perhaps congratulate ourselves upon our superior advantages; but we think not of ascribing to Science the praise. Yet when we look around us and reflect upon the source of our greatest advantages, we cannot but see that it is to Science, that we are indebted for them all. When we go into our large factories and see wheel after wheel revolving, in harmony and order, and effect following effect, with unerring certainty, at each successive turn, we know that the finger of Science has been there--or when we turn from the crowded City and descry on the blue waters, the white canvass, swelling in the breeze and driving before the wind, the stately ship--safe, amidst breakers and rocks--again we know that the genius of Science sits at the helm and pilots her on. There is indeed nothing, we may safely assert, now known and valued in the arts, that has not been discovered or applied and perfected by Science. It is true, that in the natural order of things, the Arts must have preceded Science, because the natural wants and cravings of man would prompt him, first to seek their gratification, by whatever means his own or the experience of others might suggest;--but his inventions and discoveries would stop with his necessities, and his knowledge be at best, but empirical.

      Such was the limit of Art, during the dark ages, and from this point, began the influence of Science, and its march has been and is still onward. There is perhaps no nation on earth, that has derived more benefit from the inventions and discoveries of Science, than Great Britain, whether we consider her on the narrow isles of the triple kingdom, or as spreading abroad the arm of her dominion, to her tributary colonies; wherever her influence and her wealth are seen, there may be seen also, the triumph of Science. As late as the 13th century, England had comparatively no commerce, and it may be inferred, from the Statutes of the Oxford Parliament, that no cloths were exported and barely enough made, at that period for home consumption. From the accession of Edward III, wool was the principal article of export and source of revenue, (Hal. ch. IX, p. 476) at which time, the fine manufacture of cloths, which had been before unknown in England, was introduced by that Monarch, taking advantage of the discontent among the manufacturers of Flanders, to invite them over, as settlers in his dominions, and from this period may be dated the birth of English commerce, and to the Science of Flemish manufacturers, may be properly attributed its origin. But one great lever in commerce was yet wanting, in order to enable England to extend her trade and increase her wealth. The ignorance of Astronomy and Geography, which, at that period, prevailed all over Europe, and indeed the world, [53] imposed an impassible barrier to the intercourse of nations, and, whilst the field of commerce was thus limited by a general ignorance of the art of navigation, the necessary stimulus to push forward inventions and improvements, was also wanting, and thus for a long period, the simple and slow agency of the common wheel and loom was all that the most extensive manufactory could boast of. But the growing necessities of the time, called loudly for the invention of some means, by which navigation and commerce might be improved and extended. Meanwhile, Astronomy had begun to turn her curious and steady gaze to the heavens, and experiment and observation, to bring their influence to bear upon the vexed and difficult question. The mariner's compass is discovered--the true motion and form of the earth conceived, and bold adventurers are on the mighty ocean, in search of new continents. Sea after sea is explored, and island and continent visited, till the commerce of England is only limited by her power to produce. The improvement in navigation and the extension of commerce, as they were the offspring of energy and enterprise, directed by Science, so in turn, they became the source of new powers and new agencies; by which the knowledge of their authors was enlarged and their wealth increased. The experience and the improvements of the whole human family, were by a mutual intercourse, revealed to each member, and the advancements of all, made to subserve the interests and uses of each, and thus by a sort of action and reaction, one advancement in Science produced another, which in its turn drove forward the first, till both were pushed to the utmost extent to which the power of the improvement or discovery, enabled man to carry them.

      But the spirit of Science ceased not its quickening influence here. It still hovered over the interests of man, pouring fresh light upon his path at each successive step and guiding him, with unerring certainty, to discovery and truth. The developement of the mechanical laws was daily giving rise to new improvements and inventions in machinery, and the perfection to which clock-work had been pushed by the experiments and calculations of men of Science, became the means of perfecting and introducing one of the happiest conceptions, that ever benefitted the human race. I allude to the inventions of the spinning jenny, by Richard Arkwright, a man, it seems, of no education, who had been stationed by the community to shave certain dusty beards, in the Northern part of England, at half penny a piece. "To such end," remarks an anonymous German writer, "by forethought, accident and arrangement, had Richard Arkwright been by the community of England, and his own consent, set apart. Nevertheless, in strapping of razors, in lathering of dusty, beards, [54] and the contradictions and confusions attendant thereon, the man had notions in that rough head of his;--spindles, shuttles, wheels and contrivances plying ideally within the same; rather hopeless looking, which, however; he did at last bring to bear. Not without difficulty! His townfolk rose in mob around him, for threatening to shorten labour, to shorten wages; so that he had to fly with broken washpots, scattered household, and seek refuge elsewhere: Nay, his wife too, as I learn, rebelled; burnt his wooden model of a spinning wheel; resolute that he should stick to his razors rather; for which, however, he decisively, as thou wilt rejoice to understand, packed her out of doors." Such was Richard Arkwright--and such the conception, which has since contributed so much to the interest and wealth of his nation, as well as the convenience and comfort of the human family, generally. But notwithstanding this happy invention was first conceived by him, illiterate as he was, it is more than doubtful, whether it would ever have been anything more than a mere dream, an invention in embryo, like the wild visions of the ingenious illiterate, who vainly hope to discover the perpetual motion, had not the assistance of Science been called in to adjust the proportions and arrange the details, according to the fixed and immutable laws of Mechanics. Such assistance was found in the scientific mechanics, Cay and Atherton, and by their hands was perfected, the wonderful invention, which has, by reducing the expenses of manufactures and giving employment to industry, sent clothing and comfort to the shivering offspring of poverty and want.

      It is difficult to estimate the real value of such discoveries, and still more so, very often, to trace all the hidden links between their conception and their perfection, and thus determine exactly, how much is due to the assistance of Science and how much belongs to what the world calls chance. Yet when we see a machine, involving in its construction, laws of friction and gravitation, strength of material and adjustment of powers and forces, and various other considerations, which we know, Science alone can reveal to us, and which, it has been the work of years to measure and determine, we are at no loss to attribute thus much to her, and conclude with certainty, that her hand has been at work, either in executing the plan, or giving laws for its adjustment.--We have said, it is difficult to estimate the real value of such discoveries, and who can tell it in all its extent. The facility with which, by the invention of Arkwright, cotton could be manufactured, created a demand for the raw-material, which neither England nor her colonies could supply. But the demand must be answered and the rich glebe of the Carolinas--of Alabama, of Mississippi, and the whole South must be upturned, and [55] the fields whitened by the valuable staple, in order to meet the calls of the manufacturers. But in-order to do this, population must be supplied; civilization must, be extended and enterprise awakened. Surplus population is, thus removed; inoperative power employed and energies put forth and exerted, that before, lay profitless and dormant. But the round of its influence does not stop here. The product of Old South must be transported to the factories of England; and the stately merchant-man must be built and manned to do it. Thus the revolution of Arkwright's invention in England, drives enterprize into the South, fells the primeval forests of Nature; upturns the silent glebe; whitens the grey earth with the rich product of the planter; drives the gallant merchant-man, with proud and swelling canvass, across the waters and gives commerce and wealth to two great and growing nations. But time would fail us to elaborate and illustrate this argument. Other inventions and discoveries, equally claim our notice and admiration.

      The invention of the steam engine by Watt, and its application to navigation by our own illustrious Fulton, in 1803, both men of profound mechanical Science, have diffused their influence throughout all the ramifications of society and formed a new era in national advancement. The awkward and sluggish keel boats, that thirty years ago, barely dragged their clumsy bottoms through the waters of the beautiful Ohio--by the light which these improvements have thrown upon navigation, have now been lifted from the waters, as things for contempt--and the mighty Mississippi and her tributaries, even amid the darkness of unsubdued nature, lighted up by hundreds of steam-boats, shooting like meteors, along their waters. Enterprize, which formerly often made the stoutest heart to quail, and the firmest nerve to tremble, are now undertaken by the merest boy, and successfully prosecuted. Journeys, which before seemed the labour of a lifetime, are now the source of frequent pleasure and recreation. But the genius and science of the great Fulton, stopped not at the invention of the steam boat. He was not content, till he had also made a channel for it, even through the forests of our interior; and now by the genius and enterprize of one man, guided and directed by science, we have rail-roads and canals every where intersecting our rich and fertile country; the stern and solitary silence of the wild old hills, is broken by the deep and noisy groanings of the labouring engine, and the simple country-man filled with astonishment and awe, at the mighty prodigy, that is bringing comforts, before unheard of, to his door, and diffusing in a thousand ways, the necessaries and conveniences of life; calling into action dormant energies and unlocking the latent treasures of the earth. These are a few of [56] the great and inappreciable benefits conferred upon man by science, and they are but a few. Innumerable other contrivances are constantly ministering to our daily comforts and indeed necessities, which science has either brought into being or perfected. But we must pass from the consideration of the practical advantages of science, to that of its pleasure.

      Were I arguing this point with Philosophers, I would need no other proof of the pleasures to be derived from the study of Science, than the fact, that by Science, we are enabled to know that, which we did not know without it. The desire to know has been, not inappropriately styled by a distinguished Philosopher of our own country and age, "the soul of the soul of man," and there is perhaps, no more universal principle of mind, than this desire. It belongs alike to the sage and the simple, the learned and the illiterate, though in many cases it differs widely, as to its objects--and it is wise that it is so. One individual turns his eyes into the bosom of the earth and, with a curious, and unwinking gaze, looks at the internal structure of the globe; descends into the mine and lingers long over the various strata, that form the firm layers of the earth; pauses with intense interest to scrutinize the various formations, in which he hopes to find Nature's own stereotype of her history, and, in the end, speculates on the Anatomy of some antediluvian skeleton, which he has picked up in the deep bosom of the earth;--another turns his observations towards the heavens, and roams over the infinite fields of space, tracing the fierce course of Orion, or holding solitary converse with the silent harmony of the starry universe; another, not content with the observations of his own unassisted, powers, fixes to his eye the microscope, and is absorbed for hours, with the busy, bustling republic of animalculæ, that people a drop of water; whilst another shoulders his mattock and digs into the flinty mineral for knowledge; but in all and with all, it is the same principle that operates--the desire to know, or, what we usually call curiosity. The gratification of a principle so universal, must therefore, be a most fruitful source of pleasure. That the study of Natural Philosophy is calculated to afford this gratification to the highest degree, is evident from the fact, that it reveals to us the principles and laws, which from their constant recurrence, in our daily walks and avocations, most frequently excite our curiosity.

      But the desire of knowledge is not more universal, than the possession of it is delightful. It fills the mind with the richest treasures of enjoyment, and makes the desert place to blossom, and the wilderness to bloom as the rose. In the deep solitude, it is company, and in the bustling world, it is power; a treasure, that adheres to one, in every hour of adversity, and is his [57] consolation and his strength. So sung the Roman poet:--

      and so testifies the experience of every Philosopher. Who is there, that can walk forth in a starry night, with the gem-set canopy of the heavens above him, and not ask himself, what means all this magnificence? Whither are tending all the hosts of the heavens, and by what power are they held firm in their courses? Do they move without order--without laws to govern them--or are they a mystery--a maze without a plan? Such questions press themselves, with intense interest upon the minds of the reflective and contemplative--and even in the absence of Science, to answer them, excite the most pleasing sensations of wonder and awe. But how is our enjoyment heightened, when by the assistance of Science, we are enabled to extend our discoveries, infinitely beyond the range of our unassisted senses, and thus, not only enlarge the field of our observation, but also, trace the causes--detect the laws--measure the distances, and calculate the motions of the most erratic luminary in the heavens. With the lights, which Science throws upon Nature, our minds need never be idle. The richest and most inexhaustible mines of pleasure are ours, and wherever we tread, our path-way is radiant with instruction and interest. To the ear of the Philosopher, the wild surge of the ocean is but the swelling harmony of Nature, and the deep thunder, that rolls in majesty through the heavens, a sublime illustration of the principles of his Science. But I must not detain you longer, in attempting to prove, that, which is a necessary consequence of our organization. Indulge me in a few remarks, on the influence of Science upon man, considered as a being, destined to live hereafter, and I shall have done.

      Many good and pious persons, even in the present day, look with suspicion upon the Physical Sciences, as subversive of faith in Revelation, and are therefore opposed to the study of them. The habit, say they, of ascribing a Physical cause to every phenomena in Nature, is calculated to produce scepticism, and in the end, infidelity; and in support of this singular position, they urge, that such has been the real consequence with some of the most distinguished men of Science, in the world. But the shallowness and fallacy of such an objection, must be most evident to any one, who will for a moment examine it. It is true, that some distinguished Philosophers, in the Physical Sciences, have been sceptics--but on the other hand, it is equally true, that much the greater number of the brightest geniuses, that have shone in this branch of Philosophy, have been firm and zealous believers in Revelation, and the same logic, that would make the study of Physical Science, the cause of infidelity in a La Place, would also make it the cause of the most unwavering faith [58] and piety in a Newton, and if any difference, perhaps with the more force, in the latter case, since it will not be denied, that to Newton were revealed more of the mysteries of Nature, than to La Place. But an argument which proves two positions, diametrically opposite, must be fallacious, and therefore proves nothing. We must then conclude, that the cause of scepticism is not to be found in the study of the Sciences, and look for it in some other source. It is true, that the discoveries of Science have been forced into the service of infidels, and made to act a most pompous and menacing part in the field of discussion--but this is a perversion of their teaching, and no argument against the propriety and usefulness of their study. The Bible itself, has some times been assigned as the cause of scepticism, by persons who could find no better excuse for their infidelity; and the Saviour of the world was crucified by those, who were most conversant with the miraculous manifestations of power, by which he attested his pretensions. Yet no man, in his senses, would contend, because a few outlaws in the kingdom of morals and common sense, assign the Bible, as the cause of their infidelity, that therefore, it should not be read and studied,--or because our Saviour was Crucified by those, who had witnessed most of his miracles, that the natural tendency of them was to prove him worthy of death. Such positions strike us, at once, as absurd. Yet there is as much logical connection in the one case as in the other.

      But what does this objection amount to in the abstract? That it is dangerous to know, that there is a Physical cause for the various phenomena of Nature; in other words, that it is dangerous to know the truth--for surely none will deny the fact, that Nature does move by laws, fixed as the everlasting hills. When resolved into its elements then, this objection serves more to weaken, than to strengthen the authority of Revelation, for it manifests a morbid sensibility, in regard to investigation, that belongs only to error, and is doubtless a relic of the old popish doctrine, by which the mass were not only excluded from the study of the Sciences, but also forbidden the free and untrammelled use of the Bible. But the days of such puling philosophy are now drawing rapidly to a close, and the general diffusion of truth is putting to the blush, many of the affected solemnities and mysteries of error. The march of the Sciences is onward, and whilst the ten thousand benefits which they are constantly conferring upon the human family, continue to speak their value and importance, it is vain and idle to oppose their course.

      But what is the real tendency of that course? Is it to debase or to elevate? To destroy our confidence in the supreme ruler of the Universe, or to enlarge our conceptions of his power and [59] wisdom, and thus add veneration and admiration to redoubled confidence and hope.

      Undoubtedly, if the better to know, and more clearly to apprehend the unsearchable nature of His power and goodness, be to enhance our faith and devotion; then the deep search of years devoted to the Philosophy of Nature by which we discover her hidden wonders and learn "to look through Nature up to Nature's God," must be most admirably fitted to the end desired. Nor will the discovery, that all the phenomena, which we witness in the course of our observations and investigations, are controlled by laws--serve in the least, to weaken, either our faith in a Supreme Governor of all--or our admiration of his power. For, whilst we discover these laws and note their influences, we are warned, that they too are under a superior control, and in fact, are but the mere agents, by which the God of the Universe operates in performing his wondrous and unsearchable plans---and the beautiful simplicity of the principles, by which he has been pleased to execute his will, instead of exciting our indifference for its author, magnifies, in the highest degree the sensation of awe and astonishment, with which we contemplate Him, through his works.

      Shall we not then, gentlemen, conclude in the language of a distinguished Philosopher and Statesman, "that the pleasures of Science go hand in hand with the solid benefits derived from it; that they tend, unlike other gratifications, not only to make our lives, more agreeable, but better; and that a rational being is bound by every motive of interest and duty, to direct his mind towards pursuits which are found to be the sure path of Virtue as well as Happiness." [60]

[IABC 43-60.]