which proves them to be at least, one hundred thousand times further from us, than we are from the sun.

It is not to be imagined, that all the stars are placed in one concave surface, so as to be equally distant from us; but that they are placed at immense distances from one another, through unlimited space, so that there may be as great a distance between any two neighboring stars, as between the sun from which we receive our light, and those which are nearest to him. Therefore, an observer who is nearest any fixed star, will look upon it alone as a real sun; and consider the rest as so many shining points, placed at equal distances from him in the firmament,

By the help of telescopes, we discover thousands of stars which are entirely invisible, without the aid of such instruments, and the better our glasses are, the more become visible. We therefore can set no limits to their numbers, or to their immeasurable distances. The celebrated Huygens carried his thoughts so far, as to believe it not impossible, that there may be stars at such inconceivable distances, that their light has not yet reached the earth since their creation; although the velocity of light, be a million of times greater than the velocity of a cannon ball at its first discharge; and as Mr. Addison justly observes, "This thought is far from being extravagant, when we consider that the Universe is the work of Infinite Power, prompted by Infinite Goodness, and having an Infinite space to exert itself in; therefore our finite imaginations can set no bounds to it."

The Sun appears very bright and large, in comparison of the fixed stars; because we constantly keep near the Sun, in comparison to our immense distance from them. For a spectator placed as near to any star, as we are to the Sun, would see that star to be a body as large and bright as the Sun appears to us : and a spectator as far distant from the Sun, as we are from the stars, would see the Sun as small as we see a star, divested of all its circumvolving planets, and would reckon it one of the stars, in numbering them.

The stars being at such immense distances from the Sun, cannot possibly receive from him so strong a light as they appear to have, nor any brightness sufficient to make them visible to us; for the Sun's rays must be so scattered before they reach such remote objects, that they can never be transmitted back to our eyes; so as to render these objects visible by reflection.Therefore the stars, like the Sun, shine with their own native and unborrowed lustre ; and since each particular one, as well as the Sun, is confined to a particular portion of space, it is evident that the stars are of the same nature with the Sun; formed of similar materials, and are placed near the centres of as many magnificent systems; have a retinue of worlds inhabited by intelligent beings, revolving round them as their common centres; receive the distribution of their rays, and are illuminated by their beams; all of which, are lost to us, in immeasurable wilds of ether.

It is not probable that the Almighty, who always acts with Infinite Wisdom, and does nothing in vain,

should create so many glorious Suns, fit for so many important purposes, and place them at such distances from each other without proper objects near enough to be benefitted by their influences. Whoever imagines that they were created only to give a faint glimmering light to the inhabitants of this globe, must have a very superficial knowledge of Astronomy, and a mean opinion of the Divine Wisdom; since by an infinitely less exertion of creating power, the Deity could have given our earth much more light by one single additional Moon.

Instead of our Sun, and our world only in the Universe, (as the unskillful in Astronomy may imagine ;) that science discovers to us, such an inconceivable number of Suns, Systems and Worlds, dispersed through boundless space, that if our Sun, with all the planets, Moons and Comets, belonging to the whole Solar System, were at once annihilated, they would no more be missed by an eye that could take in the whole compass of Creation, than a grain of sand from the Sea shore; the space they possess, being comparatively so small, that their loss would scarcely make a sensible blank in the Universe. Although Herschel, the outermost of our planets, revolves about the Sun, in an orbit of three thousand, six hundred millions of miles in diameter, and some of our Comets, make excursions more than ten thousand millions of miles beyond his orbit, and yet at that amazing distance, they are incomparably nearer the Sun, than to any of the fixed stars, as is evident, from their keeping clear of the attractive

power of all the stars, and returning periodically by virtue of the Sun's attraction.

From what we know of our own System, it may be reasonably concluded, that all the rest are with equal wisdom contrived, situated and provided with accommodations for the existence of intelligent inhabitants. Let us therefore take a survey of the System to which we belong, the only one accessible to us, and from thence we shall be better able to judge of the nature and end of other systems of the Universe. Altho' there are almost an infinite variety in the parts of Creation, which we have opportunities of examining; yet there is a general analogy running through, and connecting all the parts into one scheme, one design of dissemminating comfort and happiness to the whole Creation.-To an attentive observer, it will appear highly probaable, that the planets of our System, together with their attendants called Satellites or Moons, are much of the same nature with our earth, and destined for similar purposes; for they are all solid opaque globes, capable of supporting animals and vegetables; some are larger, some less, and one nearly the size of our earth.— They all circulate round the Sun, as the earth does, in a shorter, or longer time, according to their respective distances from him, and have, where it would not be inconvenient,) regular returns of Summer and Winter, Spring and Autumn. They have warmer and colder climates, as the various productions of our earth require, and of such as afford a possibility of discovering it, we observe a regular motion round their

axes, like that of our earth, causing an alternate return of day and night, which is necessary for labour, rest, and vegetation, and that all parts of their surfaces may be exposed to the rays of the Sun.

Such of the planets as are farthest from the Sun, and therefore enjoy least of his light, have that deficiency made up by several Moons, which constantly accompany and revolve about them, as our Moon revolves around the earth. The planet Saturn has over and above a broad ring, encompassing it, which no where touches his body; which like a broad zone in the Heavens, reflects the same light very copiously on that planet; remote planets have the Sun's light fainter by day, than we, they have an addition to it, morning and evening, by one or more of their Moons, and a greater quantity of light in the night time.

On the surface of the Moon, (because it is nearer to us than any other of the celestial bodies,) we discover a nearer resemblance of our earth, for by the assistance of telescopes we observe the Moon to be full of high mountains, large vallies, and deep cavities. These similarities leave us no room to doubt, but that all planets, Moons and Systems, are designed to be commodious habitations for creatures endowed with capacities of knowing, and adoring their beneficent Creator.

Since the fixed stars are prodigious spheres shining by their own native light like our Sun, at inconceivable distances from each other, as well as from us, it is reasonable to conclude that they are made for similar purposes, each to bestow light, heat and vegetation