ious--scarcely any part of the mischief apprehended in this
instance is imaginary; the first shock is often the most destructive;
and, as it may occur in the dead of the night, or if by day, without
giving the least warning of its approach, no forethought can guard
against it; and when the convulsion has begun, no skill, or courage, or
presence of mind, can point out the path of safety. During the
intervals, of uncertain duration, between the more fatal shocks, slight
tremors of the soil are not unfrequent; and as these sometimes precede
more violent convulsions, they become a source of anxiety and alarm. The
terror arising from this cause alone is of itself no inconsiderable
evil.

Although sentiments of pure religion are frequently awakened by these
awful visitations, yet we more commonly find that an habitual state of
fear, a sense of helplessness, and a belief in the futility of all human
exertions, prepare the minds of the vulgar for the influence of a
demoralizing superstition.

Where earthquakes are frequent, there can never be perfect security of
property under the best government; industry cannot be assured of
reaping the fruits of its labor; and the most daring acts of outrage may
occasionally be perpetrated with impunity, when the arm of the law is
paralyzed by the general consternation. It is hardly necessary to add,
that the progress of civilization and national wealth must be retarded
by convulsions which level cities to the ground, destroy harbors, render
roads impassable, and cause the most cultivated valley-plains to be
covered with lakes, or the ruins of adjoining hills.

Those geologists who imagine that, at remote periods ere man became a
sojourner on earth, the volcanic agency was more energetic than now,
should be careful to found their opinion on strict geological evidence,
and not permit themselves to be biased, as they have often been, by a
notion, that the disturbing force would probably be mitigated for the
sake of man.

I shall endeavor to point out in the sequel, that the general tendency
of subterranean movements, when their effects are considered for a
sufficient lapse of ages, is eminently beneficial, and that they
constitute an essential part of that mechanism by which the integrity of
the habitable surface is preserved, and the very existence and
perpetuation of dry land secured. Why the working of this same
machinery should be attended with so much evil, is a mystery far beyond
th