to
agitate the soul of one so alive as he was to the great truths of
nature. The day arrived, and there was no cloud on the horizon. The
observers, in silence and trembling anxiety, awaited for the predicted
moment of observation to arrive. It came, and in the instant of contact,
an emotion of joy so powerful was excited in the bosom of Dr.
Rittenhouse that he fainted.

Sir Isaac Newton, after he had advanced so far in his mathematical
proof of one of his great astronomical doctrines as to see that the
result was to be triumphant, was so affected in view of the momentous
truth he was about to demonstrate that he was unable to proceed, and
begged one of his companions in study to relieve him, and carry out the
calculation. These are striking illustrations, and the effect is perhaps
heightened from their connection with a most sublime science, all of
whose conclusions stand in open contradiction with those of superficial
and vulgar observation.

But the discovery and contemplation of truths in philosophy, chemistry,
and the mathematics have, in numerous instances, awakened kindred
emotions. The enlightened man sees in every thing he beholds upon the
surface of the earth, whether animal or vegetable, and in the very
elements themselves, no less than when contemplating the wonders of
astronomy, instances innumerable illustrative of the wisdom and
beneficence of the Architect, all of which has a direct tendency to
increase his happiness. In the invisible atmosphere which surrounds him,
where other minds discern nothing but an immense blank, he beholds an
assemblage of wonders, and a striking scene of divine wisdom and
omnipotence. He views this invisible agent not only as a _material_, but
as a _compound_ substance, composed of two opposite principles, the one
the source of flame and animal life, and the other destructive to both.
He perceives the atmosphere as the agent under the Almighty which
produces the germination and growth of plants, and all the beauties of
the vegetable creation; which preserves water in a liquid state,
supports fire and flame, and produces animal heat; which sustains the
clouds, and gives buoyancy to the feathered tribes; which is the cause
of winds, the vehicle of smells, the medium of sounds, the source of all
the pleasures we derive from the harmonies of music, the cause of the
universal light and splendor which is diffused around us, and of the
advantages we derive from the morning and evenin